Evaluation of the Maryland Multi-Payer Patient-Centered Medical Home Program

The State of Maryland established the Maryland Multi-Payer Patient-Centered Medical Home (MMPP) in response to legislation passed in 2010.  The Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) provided 53 selected practices with education and technical assistance to help them transform into PCMHs.  MHCC was interested in learning whether the MMPP can improve healthcare quality, and consequently, health outcomes, while reducing costs of care.  The evaluation also assessed the practice transformation process and the benefits received by practices from shared savings.  The IMPAQ team used a pre/post, mixed methods evaluation design that consisted of three parts to assess: 1) access, quality, utilization, disparities and cost outcomes, using administrative data; 2) implementation and practice transformation, using interviews, site visits and administrative data; and 3) satisfaction among patients and providers, using existing survey instruments.

IMPAQ hypothesized that participating practices will 1) improve access to and increase quality of care; 2) increase patient, provider, and staff satisfaction; 3) reduce health disparities; 4) decrease the utilization of costly services; and 5) lower payer costs of care.