ACP American College of Physicians - Internal Medicine - Doctors for Adults

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What is the Patient-Centered Medical Home?

A Patient-Centered Medical Home 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. The PCMH practice is responsible for providing for all of a patient’s health care needs or appropriately arranging care with other qualified professionals. This includes the provision of preventive services, treatment of acute and chronic illness, and assistance with end-of-life issues. It is a model of practice in which a team of health professionals, coordinated by a personal physician, works collaboratively to provide high levels of care, access and communication, care coordination and integration, and care quality and safety.

• A more detailed description of the PCMH can be found in: The Advanced Medical Home: A Patient-Centered, Physician-Guided Model of Health Care (an ACP policy paper).

 

• Joint Principles of the PCMH: In March 2007, the primary care professional societies endorsed a set of joint principles. These principles have now been endorsed by a total of 22 physician organizations.

 

• Guidelines for PCMH Demonstration Projects: In April 2009, the primary care professional societies released a set of guidelines intended to provide direction to demonstration projects in the planning phase and to facilitate more meaningful interpretation and understanding of the "lessons learned" from the different projects.

 

• Enhance Care Coordination through the PCMH - Background for Policymakers: A brief summary of some of the problems with current payment policies, how the PCMH can address those problems and enhance care coordination, and what Congress and other policymakers can do to support the PCMH concept. For further information on ACP's positions with regard to the PCMH, please visit the ACP Advocacy Activity section.

 

• NCQA Physician Practice Connection—Patient-Centered Medical Home (PPC-PCMH) (www.ncqa.org): The major primary care physicians groups, along with the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), have developed a recognition process called the PPC-PCMH. This process ensures that a qualifying practice is able to deliver services consistent with the PCMH model of care.

 

• Evidence of the Effectiveness of the Patient-Centered Medical Home on Quality and Cost (www.pcpcc.net): A summary document prepared by the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative.

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