WHAT IS PCMH?
The Patient Centered Medical Home is a health care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients, and their personal physicians, and when appropriate, the patient’s family.
STMG is committed to finding the most effective path to preventative care and recovery. We are sincerely dedicated to exceptional care of our patients. Our facilities offer the most comprehensive health services in Middle Tennessee. We provide more than 40 doctors/providers in more than 11 specialties including Internal Medicine, Family medicine, Internal medicine and Pediatrics, Rheumatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, ENT, Pulmonary medicine, Hypertensive Institute, and sleep disorders.
The Patient Centered Medical Home is a health care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients, and their personal physicians, and when appropriate, the patient’s family. Care is facilitated by registries, information technology, health information exchange and other means to assure that patients get the indicated care when and where they need and want it in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
STMG wants you to be the healthiest you can be. Your health care team will make every effort to teach and encourage you and your family to make better choices and maintain a healthier lifestyle. STMG is honored to be your Patient Centered Medical Home.
We strive to provide you, your family, and friends with the best possible care, based on evidence-based guidelines and the Patient Centered Medical Home philosophy. This means that we are going to place a greater focus on putting you at the center of your health care. We not only want to help you feel better when you are sick, but we want to keep you healthy. The way we can do that is to support you in taking a more active role in your health care.
We will provide quality support for:
- Keeping your appointments
- Taking your medications properly
- Helping you develop healthier lifestyle habits
- Providing resources to assist you in your everyday life
PRINCIPLES OF PCMH
A Patient Centered Medical Home is a model for care provided by physician practices that seeks to strengthen the physician-patient relationship by replacing episodic care based on illnesses and patient complaints with coordinated care and a long-term healing relationship.
JOINT PRINCIPLES OF THE PATIENT CENTERED CARE
Personal Physician: Each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician trained to provide first contact, continuous and comprehensive care.
Physician Directed Medical Practice: The personal physician leads a team of individuals at the practice level who collectively take responsibility for the ongoing care of patients.
Whole Person Orientation: The personal physician is responsible for providing for the entire patient’s healthcare needs and taking responsibility for appropriately arranging care with other qualified professionals.
Care is Coordinated and/or Integrated: across all elements of the complex healthcare system (e.g. subspecialty care, hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes) and the patient’s community (e.g. family, public and private community-based services). Care is facilitated by registries, information technology, health information exchange and other means.
Quality and Safety: are hallmarks of medical home by incorporating a care planning process, evidence based medicine, accountability, performance measurement, mutual participation and decision making
Enhanced Access: to care is available through systems such as open scheduling, expanded hours and new options for communication between patients, their personal physician, and practice staff.
Payment: appropriately recognizes the added value provided to patients who have a patient-centered medical home beyond the traditional fee-for-service encounter
Summarized from: 99 American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Joint principles of the patient-centered medical home 2007. Available at: www.medicalhomeinfo.org/Joint%20Statement.pdf, Accessed February 2, 2010
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As a patient and partner in my health care team, I will:
- Bring all the questions I have to my appointments and ask you about things I don’t understand
- Tell you how I am feeling and how it affects my life and ask for support services when I need them
- Help you create my action plan and track my progress
- Let you know when I get care somewhere else
- Bring all medicines, supplements, and herbal or holistic products I use to my appointments
- Fill my prescriptions on time, use them as prescribed, and tell you of any problems
As providers and partners in your health care team, we will:
- Respect you and your family’s culture, values, and needs
- Ask you to take part in your health care
- Help you set health goals and create an action plan
- Track the care you get from other providers
- Ask for your ideas on how we can improve your care and use language you understand
- Offer appointments at times when you can come in
- Explain test results and what will happen next
- Help you get support services when you need them
- Stay in contact with you as your partner in care
PATIENT EDUCATION AND SERVICES
How to be an active partner in your Medical Home:
Talk to Us
- Give us feedback on how our office works
- Talk with your care team about your health problems and concerns
- Ask your health care team how you can best take care of yourself
Take care of yourself
- Set health goals that you feel you can reach
- Do things to reach your goals and lower your health risks
- Join support groups with people like you
- Learn how to manage serious illnesses
Learn before you decide
- Look at different treatment options, their risks and benefits
- Create an action plan with support from your care team
Be safe
- Tell us about any medicines, supplements, and herbal or holistic products you take
- Talk with us about any safety concerns you have
