The patient-centered medical home in oncology: from concept to reality

In recent years, the cost of providing quality cancer care has been subject to an epic escalation causing concerns on the verge of a health care crisis. Innovative patient-management models in oncology based on patient-centered medical home (PCMH) principles, coupled with alternative payments to traditional fee for service (FFS), such as bundled and episodes payment are now showing evidence of effectiveness. These efforts have the potential to bend the cost curve while also improving quality of care and patient satisfaction. However, going forward with FFS alternatives, there are several performance-based payment options with an array of financial risks and rewards. Most novel payment options convey a greater financial risk and accountability on the provider. Therefore, the oncology medical home (OMH) can be a way to mitigate some financial risks by sharing savings with the payer through better global care of the patient, proactively preventing complications, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations. However, much of the medical home infrastructure that is required to reduced total costs of cancer care comes as an added expense to the provider. As best-of-practice quality standards are being elucidated and refined, we are now at a juncture where payers, providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders should work in concert to expand and implement the OMH framework into the variety of oncology practice environments to better equip them to assimilate into the new payment reform configurations of the future.