What is a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH)?

A patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a primary care model that focuses on coordinating effective care with a team-based approach. The PCMH is defined by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) as a model that follows the Shared Principles of Primary Care. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this model has been linked to improved disease management, healthcare cost savings, access to preventive care, and care quality. The model also boosts staff satisfaction and improves the patient experience. 

Key Components of the Patient Centered Medical Home Model

The patient-centered medical home model includes the following key functions of primary care:

1. Comprehensive care: The PCMH model encompasses all aspects of patient care, including preventive, wellness, acute, and chronic care. A team of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, nutritionists, and care coordinators work together to meet each patient’s complex and unique needs. 

2. Patient-centered care: The PCMH model involves giving relationship-based, whole-body care to each patient. This involves working with patients and their families to educate them in managing and organizing their care, as well as making patients and families a core part of the care team. 

3. Coordinated care: The PCMH model coordinates care between specialists, hospitals, home health care, and community services. This coordination is especially important with medically complex patients who are transitioning between points of care, such as during discharge from a facility or when beginning home health care. 

4. Accessible care: The PCMH model focuses on providing accessible healthcare services with shorter wait times, longer in-person hours, and after-hours access to nurse triage or other care. It also involves the use of remote care methods, such as phone or video appointments and email communication. 

5. High-quality, safe care: The PCMH model provides high-quality, safe care above all by using evidence-based medicine to assist patients and families in decision-making, measuring patient satisfaction, and following up with dissatisfied or complex patients where necessary. On a systemic level, the PCMH can support quality, safe healthcare by sharing performance data and improvement actions. 

Benefits of a Patient Centered Medical Home

The benefits of a PCMH encompass cost savings as well as benefits for the patients and the practice. For a practice’s bottom line, the PCMH supports the efficient use of resources and prepares the practice to participate in accountable care organizations. The practice’s patients benefit from well-coordinated, comprehensive, and customized care, as well as better access and improved health outcomes. Finally, the PCMH benefits the practice by improving physician and staff satisfaction, safety, and quality of care. 

How TempDev's EHR Consulting Can Help Run Your PCMH

A PCMH is a complex care model with many moving parts and complicated relationships. Through consulting with TempDev, you can maximize the efficiency of your PCMH and reduce the effort and resources needed to maintain the care model in your practice. NextGen Dashboard Reports allows you to improve patient care and staff satisfaction without the need for in-house analytics or development. Contact us today!