pagename

Healthcare

Medical Homes

A medical home is not a house, a doctor’s office, or a hospital. A medical home is a way of providing comprehensive medical care. In a medical home, all of your child’s doctors and specialists work in partnership with you to make sure that all of your child’s medical and non-medical needs are met. A medical home helps you access, coordinate, and understand specialty care, educational services, out-of-home care, family support, and other public and private community services that are important for the overall health of the child and family. (National Center for Medical Home Implementation)

Features of a Medical Home

Patient-centered: A partnership among practitioners, patients, and their families ensures that decisions respect patients’ wants, needs, and preferences, and that patients have the education and support they need to make decisions and participate in their own care.

Comprehensive: A team of care providers is wholly accountable for a patient’s physical and mental health care needs, including prevention and wellness, acute care, and chronic care.

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

Accessible: Patients are able to access services with shorter waiting times, “after hours” care, 24/7 electronic or telephone access, and strong communication through health IT innovations.

Committed to quality and safety: Clinicians and staff enhance quality improvement through the use of health IT and other tools to ensure that patients and families make informed decisions about their health.