American Medical Student Association

Patient-Centered Medical Home

PCMH Basics

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model is shown to provide cost effective high quality healthcare. Such practices use improved patient communication and relationships and integrate advances in technology and clinical research. This model is the future of primary care and as such, we want you all to understand this model and its value.

This National Primary Care Week, we invite you to learn more about the PCMH, educate others about the PCMH, and advocate for the expansion of this model.

Resources to Make You an Expert

• PCMH Quick Facts
• What Qualifies as a Patient-Centered Medical Home?
• Evidence Supporting the PCMH Model

Resources You Can Use for Educational Programming (e.g. lunch time talk)

Videos/Multimedia: Viewing and Discussion

• Show a short clip on the PCMH available online or send it out to your class listserv 
  General Information on PCMH (YouTube Video)
  Establishing a PCMH  (YouTube Video)
• PCMH Project-in-a-Box
  - Video explanation of the main points, speaker bio, discussion questions and action item
  - 20 minute audio/video file—requires Flash
  - 20 minute audio-only file
• A note on PCMH from the American College of Physicians

Journal Club

• The medical home, access to care, and insurance: a review of evidence. Starfield B, Shi L. Pediatrics. 2004 May;113(5 Suppl):1493-8. Review.

Lectures/Workshops

• Invite speakers from outside of your school--Fill in the gaps with local folks, but first go in search of people students usually don't hear from: faculty at other schools, public health officials, elected officials, and most importantly, practicing primary care providers from the local community and from other parts of the state. Your AHEC and local and state professional associations can help you locate speakers.
  • Consult the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative list of speakers to see if there is one in your area
• Discuss the many issues involved in using the emergency room for primary care and possible ways to alleviate the current burden on many urban Emergency Departments (ED), including the potential of the PCMH. 

Advocate

Help us make every healthcare practice and institution a patient-centered medical home! The National Committee for Quality Assurance has provided a list of centers that qualify as high level PCMH. That list can be found here. Here is some basic information about how the institutions are ranked.

Using this list you can:

• Influence residencies:
  Use this list to help you decide where to do your residency. Share it with 4th year students after educating them about the importance of the PCMH. Encourage them to ask about PCMH status on interviews so residencies know that their applicants value this model.
• Influence your own institution:
  - Is your institution already on this list? Thank them and make sure you take advantage of this training opportunity. If not done already, ask your administration or faculty to teach students explicitly about this model so they understand it during their rotations and beyond.
  - If your institution is not on the list, talk to your faculty and administration about why. Ask questions like these. Gather student support for the PCMH model and collectively advocate for its inclusion in order to improve medical education at your institution.
• Help your patients:
  You can also teach them about this model and direct them to practices that are PCMH. 
  Help your patient understand their role in their own care.

Links to Other Resources

• PCMH Info from the American Academy of Family Physicians
• PCMH Info from the American College of Physicians who include any current policy initiatives that would advance the PCMH