Patient-Centered Medical Home

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Patricia Kodis/Capt. Trevor Peterson
  • 341st Medical Group
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  The most common complaint of military health care recipients is that they cannot see their provider when they have a need.  

In health care it is important to trust the people who deliver medical advice and treatment.  This is particularly difficult in the military, because patients and providers move in and out of military treatment facilities at a high rate. Thus it feels as if individuals never get to see their own provider, if they even know who that is.

The 341st Medical Group has been in the process of changing this experience since 2012 by using the concept of the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH).  The core concepts behind PCMH are continuity of care (always seeing the same health care team), a patient-centered approach, improved access to health care, and a dedication to quality and improvement.

Continuity of care is important because only by developing a relationship with health care providers can an environment of trust and healing develop.   At the 341st MDG, we now have three fully staffed PCMH teams - two teams in the Family Health Clinic and one in the Pediatric Clinic.

When patients call for an appointment or concern, they will be prioritized to be booked with their personal provider.  If an appointment is not available in an acceptable timeframe, they may be booked with another member of their PCMH team, assuring open communication between their providers. 

Historically this has been hard to recognize as team members have swapped in and out so rapidly making prolonged continuity difficult but, at this time, we expect to have continuity with the majority of our providers for the foreseeable future. 

PCMH also provides primary health care that is relationship based with an orientation toward the whole person.  Partnering with patients and their families requires understanding and respecting each patient's unique needs, culture, values and preferences.   The medical home practice actively supports patients in learning to manage and organize their own care at the level the patient chooses.

Recognizing that patients and families are core members of the care team, PCMH ensures they are fully informed partners in establishing care plans.  The 341st MDG has a whole spectrum of care providers that focus on the patient, from nutritionists to full-time behavioral consultants.  They have nurse disease managers, case managers and even a health care integrator.

Improving access to care means more than just appointments.  Certainly getting timely appointments with the health care team is important and we strive to meet individuals needs with face to face encounters. However, access to care means so much more than this alone.  It means being able to make appointments 24 hours a day on TRICARE Online.  It means being able to contact the health care team via secure messaging online with MiCare at Relay Health.  It also means being able to speak to a team nurse or provider by leaving a message for them.  All of these improvements are aimed at delivering faster, personalized health care.

Finally at the 341st MDG, we constantly strive to enhance the patient experience by assuring quality safe health care with excellent customer service.  We are always improving processes and updating policies in order to deliver the best health care in the world.  It is a point of pride for the medical group.  With that in mind, we need our patients honest feedback, whether through the ICE system, our service delivered assessments (telephone calls) or our patient advocacy team. 

With your help, and the commitment of our staff to the PCMH concept, we will continue to deliver high-quality health care to all of our beneficiaries.