Patient-Centered Medical Homes

Patient-centered medical homes are one new care delivery concept designed to facilitate communication and shared decision-making between the patient, his/her primary care provider, other providers, and the patient's family.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the patient-centered medical home encompasses:

1. Comprehensive care that meets the large majority of each patient’s physical and mental health care needs, including prevention and wellness, acute care, and chronic care.

2. Patient-centered care that is relationship-based with an orientation toward the whole person.

3. Coordinated care across all elements of the broader health care system, including specialty care, hospitals, home health care, and community services and supports.

4. Accessible services with shorter waiting times for urgent needs, enhanced in-person hours, around-the-clock telephone or electronic access to a member of the care team, and alternative methods of communication such as email and telephone care.

5. High-quality and safe care with a commitment to quality improvement by ongoing engagement in activities such as using evidence-based medicine and clinical decision-support tools to guide shared decision making with patients and families, engaging in performance measurement and improvement, measuring and responding to patient experiences and patient satisfaction, and practicing population health management.