Managed Care Organizations, Accountable Care Organizations, and Patient-Centered Medical Homes

New forms of managed care organizations, including accountable care organizations (ACOs) and patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), are expected to provide better coordination of care than our current system of individual practitioners. According to the American College of Physicians (2012), a PCMH is “a team-based model of care led by a personal physician who provides continuous and coordinated care throughout a patient’s lifetime to maximize health outcomes.”