Programs share data, costs to help improve health care

By Ira Zunin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 22, 2012

~~<p>Triggered in large part by health care reform, primary care in Hawaii is still undergoing major change in an effort to provide higher-quality care for more people at a reasonable cost. Previously, this column described how the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state's largest health insurer, has thrown its weight behind a concept called the patient-centered medical home, where your primary care physician's clinic becomes your "home" for coordinating health care. The medical home has the laudable goal of improving the partnership between patients and doctors and relies heavily on electronic medical records to ensure optimal efficiency and positive outcomes. Doctors get reimbursed more if they participate in this effort.</p>
<p>The patient-centered medical home, however, does not address what happens to people without a primary physician or those who choose to go outside of the medical home for emergency or specialized care. For certain populations, high rates of hospital admission and inappropriate or inefficient use of emergency departments and specialists remain expensive and problematic.</p>
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Triggered in large part by health care reform, primary care in Hawaii is still undergoing major change in an effort to provide higher-quality care for more people at a reasonable cost. Previously, this column described how the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state's largest health insurer, has thrown its weight behind a concept called the patient-centered medical home, where your primary care physician's clinic becomes your "home" for coordinating health care. The medical home has the laudable goal of improving the partnership between patients and doctors and relies heavily on electronic medical records to ensure optimal efficiency and positive outcomes. Doctors get reimbursed more if they participate in this effort.

The patient-centered medical home, however, does not address what happens to people without a primary physician or those who choose to go outside of the medical home for emergency or specialized care. For certain populations, high rates of hospital admission and inappropriate or inefficient use of emergency departments and specialists remain expensive and problematic. Login for more...