In 2009, “the differences in the likelihood of reaching the blood pressure goal between the intervention and control patients diminished, although it was still statistically significant, with an odds ratio of 1.26,” Dr. Beran said. This trend coincided with significant effort within the organization overall to improve the quality of care and to increase transparency, and with the adoption of care components—such as the use of multiple blood pressure measurements to assess hypertension in at-risk patients—already in place in the medical home model.
“In many ways, the medical home intervention, in effect, raised the bar for quality in the organization,” she said, although more research is needed.