The patient-centered medical home and patient experience

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between practices' reported use of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) processes and patients' perceptions of their care experience.

Data source: Primary survey data from 393 physician practices and 1,304 patients receiving care in those practices.

Study design: This is an observational, cross-sectional study. Using standard ordinary least-squares and a sample selection model, we estimated the association between patients' care experience and the use of PCMH processes in the practices where they receive care.

Data collection: We linked data from a nationally representative survey of individuals with chronic disease and two nationally representative surveys of physician practices.

Principal findings: We found that practices' use of PCMH processes was not associated with patient experience after controlling for sample selection as well as practice and patient characteristics.

Conclusions: In our study, which was large, but somewhat limited in its measures of the PCMH and of patient experience, we found no association between PCMH processes and patient experience. The continued accumulation of evidence related to the possibilities of the PCMH, how PCMH is measured, and how the impact of PCMH is gauged provides important information for health care decision makers.