OBJECTIVES

: We examined the effect of patient centered medical home (PCMH) on health service expenditures and utilization in a national probability sample of US civilian noninstitutionalized adult population who were diagnosed with hypertension.

METHODS

: The 2010-2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data were analyzed. Our study population was limited to noninstitutionalized US adults ≥18 years of age diagnosed with hypertension. We investigated the impact of PCMH on the direct hypertension-related total, inpatient, prescription medications, outpatient, emergency room, office based, and other medical expenditures by employing Log transformed multiple linear regression models and the propensity score method.

RESULTS

Of the 18,630 adults identified with hypertension, 19.2% (n = 3,583) had received PCMH care during 2010 to 2015. After matching, No PCMH group showed greater mean in all hypertension-related health service expenditures and utilization. After adjusting for confounders, PCMH group showed significant lower total, office-based, outpatient, number of office-based visits and outpatient visits compared with control group.

CONCLUSIONS

A significant relationship between experiencing PCMH care and a lower total health care expenditure were found among patient with hypertension. To reduce the overall cost of care for those patients, policy makers should implement new intervention strategies that are effective in facilitating the access to PCMH.