What's the PCMH neighbor?

We're all familiar with the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model, but how many people have heard of the PCMH neighbor? We don't want to leave the specialists out there when we're talking about the PCMH, so here's what the ACP has to say about the PCMH neighbor:

American College of Physicians says Subspecialist “Neighbors” Vital Part of Patient Centered Medical Home

(Washington) In order to realize the full potential of the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of patient care to improve coordination and integration, the cooperation of subspecialist physicians and other health care professionals must be ensured, says a new policy paper from the American College of Physicians (ACP).

The paper, The Patient Centered Medical Home Neighbor: The Interface of the Patient Centered Medical Home with Specialty/Subspecialty Practices, defines the concept of the PCMH neighbor and lays out a framework for how improved collaboration can be fostered between the PCMH and its medical neighbors. Delineating the concept of the PCMH neighbor allows the PCMH model of patient care to take an important step forward as it gains wider acceptance.

American College of Physicians and AARP provide resource to explain health care law

New Resource to Explain the Health Care Law

American College of Physicians, AARP launch consumer-friendly guide to help people understand how the new law may affect them.

WASHINGTON—Today, the American College of Physicians (ACP) and AARP launched an online guide to help inform consumers about the health care law. The guide is written and organized in a way that clearly explains what the law has changed, why these changes were made and when the changes will take effect.

ACP is encouraging its member doctors to download the guide— available at http://www.acponline.org/healthlawconsumerinfo — and make it accessible to patients.

“I want my patients to have the best information possible,” said ACP President J. Fred Ralston, Jr., MD, FACP. “This guide lays out the changes brought about by the law and will help my patients and their family members make more informed decisions about their health care.”

AmericanEHR Partners

Have you heard of  AmericanEHR Partners? Here's some info from their website:

AmericanEHR Partners is a web-based resource for EHR system selection/implementation developed by the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies. As physicians are experiencing increasing pressure to adopt and use electronic health record systems (EHRs), this new resource will help physicians as they face the intimidating task of selecting and implementing a system. AmericanEHR Partners is a free, web-based resource for all practices and their office teams to help in this process. The AmericanEHR Partners replaces ACP’s previous EHR Partners Program.

AmericanEHR Partners allows you to compare certified EHR systems to find the system that best suits your needs. There are many interactive tools, educational materials, and podcasts to assist practices in their research, including:

• The EHR Readiness Assessment Tool will help you and your practice assess a number of critical areas and gauge the effort and commitment required to make EHR adoption easier and more successful.
• EHR Comparison Engine & Rating System, based on selected specialty and other search criteria, helps practices evaluate and compare products and user ratings.
• An automated RFI to send to vendors once you have narrowed your choices down.
• An interactive physician community for sharing user experiences.
• An EHR Blog where guest bloggers will be invited to post about the HIT industry and other timely technology topics.
• A biweekly EHR Educational Newsletter
• Specialty and sub-specialty society specific information and resources
• Educational resources and podcasts

The AmericanEHR Partners does not endorse or indicate a preference for any EHR system. The goal is to provide unbiased information on all of the participating EHR vendors.

AmericanEHR Partners strives to create a credible, professional and relevant resource for physicians and healthcare professionals to use in their search and implementation of an EHR system.

Visit www.AmericanEHR.com

Patient Centered Medical Home

Have you heard of the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH)? It's a concept that has recently emerged to encourage comprehensive medical care in today's complex (and often confusing) health care system. It focuses on improving quality and safety of the whole person (from start to finish) through the use of integrated care (or coordinated care) and enhanced access. Essentially, physicians are forming partnerships with patients and family members.

To read the Joint Principles of the PCMH, click here. These were developed by the following four groups:

• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• American College of Physicians (ACP)
• American Osteopathic Association (AOA)

EHR Partners Program

At the American College of Physicians (ACP) meeting in Philly, the ACP announced a program to help clinicians find the right Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. It's called the "Electronic Health Record Partners Program or EHR Partners Program." You must be an ACP member to access the site.

It may not be the most original title, but it was a good purpose behind it. 22 vendors are on this list. These include CCHIT certified vendors. After all, what's the purpose of getting an EHR if it isn't going to be certified? You wont' reap the benefits from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 if you're not using a certified system. I think the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) will be very busy testing and certifying current EHR systems that lack that certification. There's a very bright future for people who decide to pursue a career in health information technology (health IT or HITECH).

ACP is in Philly

The ACP (American College of Physicians) meeting runs from April 23-25, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA. Make sure to grab some Philly Cheesesteak (and don't forget to take a statin).