patient centered medical homes

Creating a Health Care Partnership with Your Personal Physician

By Stephen Pilcher, MD, Bloomington Primary Care

he Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), an innovative NCQA accreditation program for improving primary care, is defined as a model of care that strengthens the clinicianpatient relationship by replacing episodic care with coordinated care and a long-term healing relationship[it] is intended to result in more personalized, coordinated, effective and efficient care. - NCQA

What Does This Mean to You? The Patient-Centered Medical Home allows for comprehensive primary care in a setting that encourages a partnership between you and your personal primary care doctor. The American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, and American Academy of Pediatrics have defined several core elements that must be fulfilled for a medical practice to receive national PCMH accreditation, placing you, the patient, at the center of your medical team.

First Element A practice must be patient-centered. This means enhanced access to your personal physician: Evening hours Same day appointment slots Online appointment scheduling Website connections Internet access to your labs/medicines/allergies/immunizations Future consideration for communication via email It also means that you get to see your personal doctor on the day when its needed the most, when you are admitted to the hospital. All this allows you, the patient, to contact your doctor and access your medical records in a timely manner. Support will be available through coaches who offer the tools needed to manage disease through lifestyle changes. Tools include various edu-

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Page 52 Healthy Cells Magazine Bloomington September 2013

cation classes for you and your family as you seek solutions to control diabetes and manage cholesterol numbers and high blood pressure. Second Element A practice must include integrated and coordinated care. Nurse coordinators help address issues outside of scheduled appointments for patients with increased needs, like a new cancer diagnosis, complex chronic illnesses, or a recent hospital release. You will be able to use the power of the Internet to generate disease registries for things like diabetes, heart disease, and immunizations. Just like the wellness-checks with your dentist, your doctor should track your visits and contact you with a reminder call for that overdue diabetes check. As part of this coordinated care, a PCMH must:  Share information with your specialists via secure Internet connections that will reduce unnecessary repeat tests.  Track tests126473 and referrals CLNTS in an effort to 2 provide proper care on your 19:15 10/5/01 WV behalf. 110 Third Element A practice must be pushing for continuous quality improvement 126473 CLNTS 2 19:15 10/5/01 WV 110 DOLEV from within. How does this affect you? A well-run practice is part of a life-long relationship with your primary care doctor. This will include better internal clinical coordination so that your doctor will stay current with the latest evidence-based medicine. 7" A well-run practice will provide more efficient tracking of clinical inte7" gration metrics and patient satisfaction surveys, and will ensure that systems are in place, as changes are needed.

"The Patient-Centered Medical Home allows for comprehensive primary care in a setting that encourages a partnership between you and your personal primary care doctor."
To date, no primary care practices in McLean County are PCMH accredited. However, some practices are well on their way. A few are taking the lead, adding to their rich tradition of personal, and private practice methods while adding modern technology to help increase DOLEV accessibility, care coordination, disease management, and continual improvement in the quality of care over the course of lifetime. Welcome to the future! Stephen Hill, MD, and Adam Houghton, MD, are currently accepting new patients at Bloomington Primary Care, located at 9 Heartland Drive in Bloomington. For your next appointment, please contact them at 309663-7642. For more information, visit www.bloomingtonprimarycare.com.

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September 2013 Bloomington Healthy Cells Magazine Page 53

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