If you're reading this, you probably have a pretty good sense of what constitutes a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). The concept is gaining traction, but with great recognition, comes great expectations. While we are delighted that so many providers are seeking PCMH recognition and the financial incentives that often go with it, we have to guard against the temptation to let medical home recognition or accreditation be the end of the journey, instead of the beginning.
A true medical home is an approach to providing comprehensive primary care that creates on-going partnerships with the patient. A medical home coordinates care among providers, and assures the patient gets whatever care is needed, whether it be prevention, treatment, referrals, medications or supportive services. It requires total reimagining of how a traditional practice operates and It always requires an unwavering commitment to improvement.
Judging by the hundreds of downloads of our new medical home assessment tool, providers across the country are keenly interested in medical home transformation. Meanwhile, New York and other states are increasingly turning to medical homes to produce desperately needed cost savings and improved quality and outcomes.
Primary care providers can meet these high expectations, but only through true transformation. With years of experience helping providers redesign practices to deliver high-performing, patient-centered primary care, PCDC is ready to assist in this transformation.
Sincerely,
Ronda Kotelchuck
Executive Director
