Request for additional funds for A Meta-Analysis of Patient-Centered Medical Home Evaluations"

Many existing evaluations of patient-centered medical homes suffer from small sample sizes and questionable methods. A July 2013 Board-level grant supported a meta-analysis of robust evaluations with rigorous methods, including further pooled analyses to help reach conclusions about the state of implementation across the country. Under the leadership of Meredith Rosenthal, PhD, at the Harvard School of Public Health, the project team has identified 11 evaluations that meet the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis (standardized method for defining medical homes, comparison group and pre-post design). One of the 11 identified evaluations, the Vermont Blueprint for Health, represents a distinct approach to PCMH since its implementation is statewide and includes mostly rural practices. However, due to limited resources in Vermont, additional funds are needed to generate the standardized estimates for a common set of metrics to be used in the Harvard study. The inclusion of Vermont will greatly increase the precision of the meta-analysis’ findings as well as bring diversity to the underlying evaluations represented.