Summary: The patient-centered medical home is at the heart of Mesa County, Colorado's shared savings model, explains David West, M.D., a hospitalist, family physician and healthcare consultant from Grand Junction, Colorado. Dr. West describes how the shared savings model can be adapted across markets, including the conditions and factors that must be present for this approach to be feasible. He also shares a unique provider incentive that is keeping hospital stays of Medicare patients at less than one-third the national average, one of the factors that has the nation touting this area as a model for efficient healthcare delivery. Dr. West examined how to structure a shared savings agreement during "Shared Savings in the Medical Home," a 45-minute webinar on March 31, 2010.
