Tripler Army Medical Center's (TAMC) Internal Medicine Patient Centered Medical Homes (INT-PCMH) earns recognition as the Pacific Regional Medical Command (PRMC) Best PCMH Practice of the Third Quarter 2014.
According to the Defense Health Agency website, The PCMH is a team-based model based on the premise that the best healthcare begins with a strong primary care foundation, accompanied by quality and resource efficiency incentives.
Patients in a PCMH have a personal provider, who along with his/her team, provides continuous, accessible, family-centered, comprehensive, compassionate and culturally-sensitive health care in order to achieve the best outcomes.
"There was an Operational Order (OPORD) that very specifically laid out how we were supposed to go about transforming into this model of healthcare," stated Sandra Moon, Chief, Internal Medicine Clinic, TAMC.
Noon explained the PCMH is rated on how it completes the transformation model and is followed very closely, on a monthly basis, on well they are doing in each particular section.
"Different facets of this model that have been dictated by MEDCOM such as continuity of care, quality of care, having all the physical plans in place, our support staff in place, and training, making grading medical homes relatively easy," stated Noon.
The award shows recognition for what the PCMH is doing correctly and promotes positive feedback from the medical home.
Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, U.S. Army Surgeon General and Commander, U.S. Army Medical Command designated INT-PCMH with this honor.
Here's what patients can expect from the INT-PCMH
• A personal provider. Each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal Physician, Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner who is trained to provide first contact, continuous and comprehensive care.
• Physician directed medical practice. The personal physician leads a team(s) of individuals at the practice level who collectively take responsibility for ongoing patient care.
• Whole person orientation. The personal provider is responsible for providing all of the patient's health care needs or for arranging care with other qualified professionals.
• Coordinated and Integrated Care. Each patient's care is coordinated and integrated across all elements of the health care system and the patient's community.
• Quality and Safety focus: All members of the healthcare team are focused on ensuring high quality care in the medical home.
• Improved access: In the PCMH, enhanced access to care options are available through open scheduling, same day appointments, secure messaging, and other innovative options for communication between patients, their personal physician and practice staff.
Army Medicine's goal is to have all of its primary care facilities in the continental United States and overseas transform to the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of care no later than October 1, 2014.
The transition to the PCMH model of care is part of Army Medicine's overall shift from a health care system to a system for health.
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