Is the medical home for adult patients with sickle cell disease a reality or an illusion?

Recently, the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) emerged as a viable method to improve delivery of medical care. Due to all the promotion about the effectiveness of the PCMH, patients with sickle cell disease, their families and the community hoped that this could be a possible solution to the problems that arise in the treatment of adult patients with sickle cell disease. Review of the literature and review of the criteria for the establishment of a PCMH show that the PCMH is not an ideal model for patients with sickle cell disease because finding a personal physician, which is the first criteria of a functional PCMH, is a major problem in the process of transitioning the care of patients with sickle cell disease from pediatrics to adult care. Moreover, garnering hospital support to defray the initial costs to establish a PCMH for adults with sickle cell disease is unlikely given the already high costs of care for patients with sickle cell disease. Moreover, recent studies have shown insufficient evidence to determine the presumed beneficial effects of the PCMH, especially in patients with chronic disease.