The basic premise of the patient-centered medical home concept is that care is coordinated by a personal physician with the tools that will lead to better outcomes.
We endorse the American Association of Family Practitioners (AAFP) guidelines that define a "medical home".
- Personal Relationship: Each Patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician trained to provide first contact, continuous and comprehensive care.
- Team Approach: The Personal Physician leads a team of individuals at the practice level who collectively take responsibility for the ongoing patient care.
- Comprehensive: The personal physician is responsible for providing for all the patient’s health care needs at all stages of life or taking responsibility for appropriately arranging care with other qualified professionals.
- Coordination: Care is coordinated and integrated across all domains of the health care system, facilitated by registries, information technology, health information exchange and other means to assure that patient get the indicated care when and where they want it.
- Quality and Safety: Quality and Safety are hallmarks of the medical home. This includes using electronic medical records and technology to provide decision-support for evidence-based treatments and patient and physician involvement in continuous quality improvement.
- Expanded Access: Enhanced access to care is available through systems such as open scheduling, expanded hours, and new options for communication between patients, physicians, and practice staff.
- Added Value: Payment that appropriately
recognizes the added value provided to patients who have
a Patient-Centered Medical Home.