Delivering quality health care may be the single greatest challenge facing our country. It is the classic rock and hard place conundrum. On the one hand, there is a desperate need to cut costs, while on the other hand; spending money on good primary care today will save millions down the road. In North Carolina, they have created a community-based health care system for Medicaid patients that may be a model for the rest of the nation. The system is built around 14 regional healthcare networks in which 3,000 local physicians are linked with high-risk patients. Medical interventions are made and chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes are addressed. Community based case managers are hired locally by the networks. They work closely with patients to insure that they are getting the care they need to prevent costly complications. The result is that Community Care of North Carolina has dramatically improved the health of thousands of patients while saving millions of dollars What's the secret? It has a lot to do with putting care back in the hands of family physicians.
