Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative

Physician Groups, Employers Advocate Change

By Sheri Porter
5/17/2007

A group that has been working diligently behind the scenes for months to raise awareness about the value of the personal medical home made its public debut on May 10.

The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative was formally introduced to the public and the U.S. House of Representatives via a "Statement for the Record" (PDF file: 1 page / 16 KB. More about PDFs.) presented to the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Health. The written statement was presented in conjunction with testimony on Medicare physician payment reform presented to the subcommittee by AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan.

Members of the collaborative -- which include the AAFP and other physician groups, health care organizations and employers -- agree that placing primary care and the patient-centered medical home "center stage" in the health care debate will help put America's ailing health care system back on the road to recovery.

Collaborative Members

As of May 8, the members of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative included the following:

the AAFP,
the American Academy of Pediatrics,
the American College of Physicians,
the American Osteopathic Association,
the ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) Industry Committee,
Exelon Corp.,
General Motors,
the HR (Human Resources) Policy Association,
IBM,
the National Association of Community Health Centers,
the National Business Group on Health,
Walgreens Strategic Health Initiatives, and
Wyeth.

The AAFP expects other major consumer and patient advocacy groups, as well as additional employer and physician groups, to join the collaborative in the near future.

According to an AAFP news release, the collaborative represents close to 50 million American workers and nearly 330,000 physicians.

During the coming months, collaborative partners will encourage adoption of the patient-centered medical home concept through an aggressive legislative agenda and by enlisting the support of additional employers, employer groups and health care stakeholders.

In an interview, Kellerman acknowledged the growing dissatisfaction with the rising costs and declining quality of health care among America's patients and employers. He said family physicians are part of the solution.

"America's family physicians understand the value of primary care delivered in a patient-centered medical home. The Academy has worked hard on behalf of its members to explain the value of the medical home to leaders in both the private and public sectors who are engaged in developing health care policy," said Kellerman.

"It's gratifying to join hands with other physician groups, health care organizations business leaders and employer groups who, like the Academy, are committed to delivering the best possible health care at an affordable cost. Through this collaborative, we can all work together to achieve a better overall health care system in this country," he said.

In March, the Academy, along with three other members of the collaborative -- the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians and the American Osteopathic Association -- released the Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home. (PDF file: 3 pages / 29 KB. More about PDFs.)

According to that document, key principles of the patient-centered medical home are

each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician, who arranges care with other qualified professionals and who leads a team of professionals who take responsibility for the ongoing care of patients;
decision-making is guided and supported by evidence-based medicine, continuous quality improvement, information technology, patient participation in care decisions and patient feedback;
access to care is improved, such as through open scheduling, expanded hours and new options for communication with patients; and
payment for care services recognizes the medical expertise, administrative requirements and time demands that come with providing a personal medical home.

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