American College of Physicians urges system reform, new model of care

Its annual report also says primary care payment needs restructuring to better reward physicians for ongoing management of patients' health.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Feb. 12, 2007.

The health care system needs major reforms and should embrace a patient-centered model of care, according to a new report from the American College of Physicians.

Adopting that model would avert a collapse of primary care medicine by restructuring payment policies to support the value of care provided by primary care doctors, the ACP's annual report concluded about the state of the nation's health care. Under the model, a primary care physician partners with the patient and leads a team that provides enhanced access to care and better health care coordination.

"This builds on what we've been doing the past three or four years in looking at primary care," said ACP President Lynne Kirk, MD, of Dallas.

A system built on a patient-centered medical home would mean improved outcomes, more efficient use of resources and higher patient satisfaction, according to the Jan. 22 report. ACP leaders said implementing recommendations in the report would change the way primary care is organized, delivered and financed.

Many physicians provide some elements of patient-centered care but few provide all of them, Dr. Kirk said. A key reason why the United States does not consistently deliver such care is that payment systems reward doctors for the volume of procedures and number of office visits rather than for ongoing management of patients' health, she said.