Better outcomes for people with chronic disease – Submission by ACMH
The Australian Government has commissioned ‘The Primary Health Care Advisory Group’ which will ‘investigate options into the reform of primary health care to support patients with complex and chronic illness, and the treatment of mental health conditions.’ The Advisory Group has released a discussion paper ‘Better Outcomes for People with Chronic and Complex Health Conditions through primary health care‘. The Australian Centre for the Medical Home has made this submission to the group. The submission argues that General Practice is well positioned to...
Read MoreHow safe is your prescribing?
We know that there is a large gap between the evidence of how medications should be used, and what happens in practice. It is estimated that between 2 and 3% of hospital admissions in Australia are medication related. What can we do about it? In a study published this month in the MJA, Gillian Caughey and colleagues looked at the prevalence of suboptmal medication management in 164,000 patient admission over 5 years. They have developed evidence-based medication-related indicators of suboptimal processes of care before hospitalisation that are specific to the Australian health care...
Read MoreIdentifying Most Valuable Care
What do the top performing family practices do better than the rest? The Peterson Center on Healthcare identified 11 ‘bright spot’ primary care practices across the US – teams that deliver high quality care at a much lower than average cost. (Article is here) They identified 10 features that these high performing sites had in common. 1. Practices are ‘always on.’ Patients have a sense that their care team is ‘always available,’ and that they will be able to reach someone who knows them and can help them quickly whether the practice is open or closed. Practices offer...
Read MorePCMH leads to lower total cost of care
Total Cost of Care Lower among Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries Receiving Care from Patient-Centered Medical Homes. Van Hasselt M1, McCall N, Keyes V, Wensky SG, Smith KW. Health Serv Res. 2014 Jul 31. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12217 OBJECTIVE: This study published in the health care utilization and payments between NCQA-recognized patient-centered medical home (PCMH) practices and practices without such recognition. DATA SOURCES: Medicare Part A and B claims files from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2010, 2009 Census, 2007 Health Resources and Services Administration and CMS Utilization...
Read MoreThe Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood — Transforming Speciality Practice – NEJM
Transforming Specialty Practice — The Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood — NEJM The latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has an informative article on the ‘Patient Centred Medical Neighbourhood’. The article reinforces the view of the Australian Centre for the Medical Home that the creation of a Medical Home is a necessary but not sufficient step in building a Person Centred Health System. The authors explain that “term “medical neighborhood” has been coined to capture an expanded notion of patient-centered care, in which the PCMH is located...
Read More2014 Guidelines for PCMH Recognition
The US based NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance) has just released their new 2014 PCMH Standards and Guidelines for PCMH recognition (the previous set of standards was released in 2011) (free, but registration required) More information at the NCQA site The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of primary care emphasizes care coordination and communication to transform primary care into “what patients want it to be.” Research confirms that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patients’ and providers’ experiences of care....
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