Instead of care based on episodes of illness and patient complaints, the patient-centered medical home emphasizes coordinated care and a long-term healing relationship between the patient and his/her primary care physician.

The American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Practice, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association have jointly defined the medical home as a model of care where each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician who leads a team that takes collective responsibility for patient care. The physician‐led care team is responsible for providing all the patient’s health care needs and, when needed, arranges for appropriate care with other qualified physicians.

The patient-centered medical home model has been shown to deliver impressive health care value. The Geisinger Health Care System, a large rural health care organization in Pennsylvania, has reported that its medical home program reduced hospital admissions by 20%, saving 7% of total medical costs. Moreover, the program eliminated common health care delivery problems including unjustified variation (different approaches to care in different locations), perverse payment incentives (more money for more work with irrelevant outcomes), and lack of coordination among caregivers.