You may not save money with team-based medical care, but you’ll be healthier. Researchers compared data on Medicaid patients with type 2 diabetes who received care from a team—including physician, medical assistant, information specialist, part-time social worker, and nurse “care manager”—with those who got care from a single physician. While team-based treatment didn’t cost less, patients who got team care improved their health, as measured by A1C, body mass index, and systolic (top number) blood pressure.
Source: Diabetes Care, November 2008