The medical home model: new opportunities for psychiatric services in the United States

Abstract

Purpose of review: The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model is an approach to providing integrated healthcare through one main point of access. As the PCMH model gains increasing adoption in large health systems, its implications for psychiatric services are becoming increasingly important. This review highlights the development of the medical home model and a number of ways in which it has been adopted in psychiatric delivery systems.

Recent findings: Numerous pilot initiatives have demonstrated quality improvement through the provision of psychiatric care in medical settings, medical care in psychiatric settings or fully integrated care through broadly trained providers.

Summary: The PCMH model offers a useful conceptual framework for the management of complex and chronic psychiatric illness. Early pilots of its use in psychiatric settings have demonstrated that people with psychiatric illness who receive their care in a medical home have better access to care, improved response to treatment, and higher cost-efficiency compared with usual care.