The Ohio Senate joined the House in unanimously approving a bill that would establish 44 patient-centered medical homes in the state.
An increasingly popular concept in healthcare, medical homes are seen by advocates as a way of providing more comprehensive care at lower costs. In a medical home, patients are cared for by a primary care physician who leads a medical team that coordinates all aspects of preventive, acute and chronic needs of patients using the best available evidence and appropriate technology, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The bill sets up a large advisory group, which consists of various physicians and other medial professionals, to administer the pilot project. Primary care practices “with educational affiliations” from across the state can apply for inclusion in the project, according to the bill.
Of the 44 practices included in the project, 40 are to be led by primary care physicians, while four are to be led by advanced practice nurses.
Practices selected for participation would be eligible to be reimbursed for up to 75 percent of the costs of new information technology needed to convert to a medical home. Practices would also receive “comprehensive training” on how to operate as medical homes. The advisory group is charged with working with the state’s medical and nursing schools to develop training plans.
One drawback of the bill may be that it doesn’t identify any specific sources of funding for the medical homes project. Instead, the advisory group is charged with finding grants, federal funds or private donations to pay for the program.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, and Rep. Peter Ujvagi, D-Toledo. It passed in the Senate with a 33-0 vote after passing in the House by a 97-0 margin in March. It now awaits Gov. Ted Strickland’s signature.
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A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Photo from flickr user stevendepolo
