|
 |
Family Medicine and the Patient Centered
Medical Home
|
One of the most important
components in achieving family medicine’s goals of true health
care - and payment - reform is the patient centered medical home (PCMH).
The PCMH is much more than a movement by the primary care
community to improve health care for our patients.
In many ways, family medicine
practices are already the medical home for their patients.
Whether it’s a private practice, community health center
or a residency program, family physicians, by definition and the
scope of care they provide, are the best home for patients.
Family medicine is advocating
for our country – public and private insurance providers - to
adopt the PCMH model. Government
programs (Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Health, TriCare, Federal
employees’ health plan) and private insurance companies should
structure their payment to primary care providers based on the
medical home model.
Since October 2007, “Patient
Centered Medical Home” has been our mantra in the health care
debate to corral participation of legislators, providers,
businesses and health plans. Our
goal was to position primary care as a priority solution to the
true health care transformation that our nation needs. Now PCMH is
more than a concept or a phrase: it has concrete definitions,
standards and an application/certification process.
What is a PCMH in today’s practice environment?
From
AAFP http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/membership/initiatives/pcmh.html
A patient-centered medical
home (PCMH) is simply a better way--a more effective and efficient
model of health care delivery. This new model produces better care
and lower costs. In a patient-centered medical home:
Patients
have a relationship with a personal physician.
-
A
practice-based care team takes collective responsibility for
the patient's ongoing care.
-
Care
team is responsible for providing and arranging all the
patient's health care needs.
-
Patients
can expect care that is coordinated across care
settings and disciplines.
-
Quality
is measured and improved as part of daily work flow.
-
Patients
experience enhanced access and communication.
-
Practice
uses EHRs, registries, and other clinical support systems.
For patients: a patient centered medical home…
…makes sure you get the best
possible care with a physician who knows you.
…strives to keep you healthy in order to avoid emergency room
visits and hospitalizations.
…provides the best quality care while responsibly containing
health care costs.
…creates savings in health care that will keep our economy
healthy.
…encourages your involvement in the decision making
Working
toward a medical home in Illinois
Illinois Medicaid patients are
already seeing the benefits of having a “medical home” through
the Illinois Health Connect
Program. Over
5,000 primary care practices are designated primary care providers
to over 1.8 million Medicaid patients. Although these practices
are not nationally certified “medical homes,” they function as
Medicaid patients’ usual source of care and first point of
contact. As a result,
participating physicians are seeing increased payments and better
outcomes for coordinating care.
The disease management
component, Your Healthcare
Plus, is working to improve outcomes for some of Medicaid’s
most complex patients. All Illinois physicians can benefit from
the clinical knowledge and the quality improvement tools available
from the Your Healthcare Plus CME program, created by IAFP’s
education network.
Both Illinois Health Connect and Your Healthcare Plus are
led by family physicians and shaped by constant feedback from IAFP
leaders and family physicians.
l
|