Patient-Centered Health Care More Effective, Efficient, APA Says

WASHINGTON — The following is a statement from W. Douglas Tynan, PhD, director of integrated health care with the American Psychological Association, regarding the annual report of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, released today:

“Once again, the data show that by coordinating care through well-established primary care teams, there is overall improvement in health as evidenced by improvements in measures such as long-term diabetes control. And with improvements in health, there are reductions in health care costs. Using data from peer-reviewed journals, state and federal agency reports as well as those from industry, the report shows that patient-centered, comprehensive coordinated care results in better health and thus lower costs. Programs such as Oregon’s Comprehensive Care Organizations and the Veterans Health Administration Patient Aligned Care Teams, which emphasize the full integration of psychologists and other behavioral health providers working side by side with primary care providers, showed clear trends for reductions in urgent and emergency care visits, avoidable hospitalizations and specialty visits.”  

As a partner, APA works with the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative and its network of diverse stakeholder organizations, to advance the comprehensive patient-centered medical home as a model that addresses health care needs, including mental health, substance abuse and health behavior change.

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