Government

New medical home guidelines released

Physician groups hope clarity, consistency will lead to broader acceptance of the programs.

By Chris Silva — Posted May 12, 2009

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

Four physician organizations have developed new guidelines for medical home projects to ensure consistency and help define how a patient-centered home model should look.

The 16 guidelines include recommendations on who should collaborate on the projects, how they should choose practices to participate, what type of support should be provided to practices, how practices should be reimbursed, and what each project should do to analyze and report results.

"We believe that these new guidelines are necessary to help define what constitutes an adequate test of the patient-centered medical home model," said Joseph W. Stubbs, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, which developed them along with the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Assn.

The guidelines have also been endorsed by the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, a coalition of more than 400 employers, consumer groups, health plans, hospitals and physicians that have worked to advance the patient-centered medical home concept.

"If projects are consistently and appropriately evaluated, it will indeed facilitate more meaningful interpretation and understanding of the lessons learned as we move forward to full implementation of medical home nationally," said David T. Tayloe Jr., MD, AAP president.

The measures were developed as a companion to the "Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home," a 2007 release that more broadly describes the patient-centered medical home model. The American Medical Association in 2008 adopted those joint principles and made a commitment to continue studying the medical home model, with emphasis on funding sources and payment structures.

The new guidelines are available online (link).

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn