It may be the time to consider "PCMH" in a different light - "Patient Centered Maximized Healthcare". A practice ultimately strives to be an entity that provides maximized healthcare. Physicians wake up every morning wanting to maximize the health of their patients. Payers want to pay differently for care that is maximal. Policymakers understand that if the US Healthcare System is going to survive that the country needs PCMH but...

Click here to read Dr. McGeeney's CEO Report.

Published in The New York Times - July 15, 2010.

"For several years now and with a growing messianic fervor, physicians and health care experts have been responding to the need to deliver more efficient and better primary care with one response: patient-centered medical homes.

Not long ago, I found myself doing the same with a friend who prides himself on being a well-informed patient. But instead of an overwhelmingly enthusiastic or even mildly interested response, my friend stared at me blankly.

"What in the world are you talking about?" he finally asked. "A hospice? A halfway house? Some kind of group home for patients?"

I explained that a patient-centered medical home can be any primary care doctor's office, but it is run with a different philosophy. Care is team-based, preventive and comprehensive, rather than one-on-one, fee-for-service or managed. Record keeping and sharing is seamless and electronic, rather than unwieldy and paper-based. Clinicians from the team are easily accessible in person, on the phone or via the Internet within 24 hours, rather than hidden behind labyrinthine automatic answering services and overbooked clinic schedules.

My friend suddenly became very interested..."

Click here to read the article at the New York Times.

Find out about the TransforMED Patient Experience Assessment Tool mentioned in the article.

The Small Practice Package is designed -- and priced -- exclusively for small practices with 1-4 providers, because small practices' adaptability gives them an advantage in achieving measurable results from PCMH transformation. Click here to find out more.

• Improving the quality of chronic disease care
• Reducing ER visits and hospital admissions through improved ambulatory access
• Cutting the total cost of care for patients in their pilot populations
• Making positive changes to their practice work environments
• Making meaningful use of EHRs and implementing innovative technologies

Now that the Final Rule on Meaningful Use has been released, PCMH practice leaders will need to understand the rule, eligibility, timeline, and the HIT certification, utilization, and validation requirements.

To this end, Steven E. Waldren MD, MS and Jason M. Mitchell, MD of the Center for Health-IT at the AAFP will present a webinar entitled "Understanding the Meaning of Meaningful Use" on Thursday, August 19, 2010 Noon-1:30 pm CST. The cost is $10 for AAFP Members, $50 for Nonmembers. Registration is limited to 500 participants.

The AAFP Center for Health-IT (CHIT) also offers a concise list of links to an overview at the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs web site, The New England Journal of Medicine Meaningful Use summary by David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for HIT, and other news resources.

Click here for CHIT's Meaningful Use page where you can register for the webinar and access the links.