Researchers analyzed how patients with handled hypertension used outpatient specialized good care before, during, and after a primary care upgrade was spread system-wide. Patients with hypertension and few other circumstances had 27-28 % less specialized trips in each of the three years after upgrade implementation began, in comparison to earlier. Those with some other diseases had 9 % less specialized visits during healthcare home execution and 5 % less specialized trips during the following years.

Group Health analyzed how patients with handled hypertension used outpatient specialized good care before, during, and after a primary care upgrade (the patient-centered medical home) was spread system-wide. David T. Liss, PhD, now a research assistant professor in medicine-general internal medicine and geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, led the report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

"Redesigning proper want to a healthcare home let primary-care groups do more, within their expertise, for their patients," Dr. Liss said. "Our results suggest this can avoid or prevent some specialized visits for patients with constant hypertension and a few co-occurring diseases." He analyzed more than 36,000 patients with handled hypertension in Group Health's 26 medical centers.