Washington -- The American College of Physicians (ACP) this week endorsed a test project of a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). The project, to be conducted in Florida, will combine the resources of the UnitedHealth Group (UHG), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) with ACP to test a model that has the potential to dramatically improve healthcare delivery and quality.
The project will be a test of the PCMH model implemented with the financial and administrative support of a private health plan. The innovative model is designed to strengthen the physician-patient relationship by having a personal physician coordinate a team of healthcare professionals as they address the full range of a patients healthcare needs. (over)
We are excited to conduct this PCMH test in Florida, said Malcolm Foster, Jr., MD, FACP, one of the governors of the ACP Florida chapter. The PCMH model describes the environment in which internists want to practice. This pilot will provide additional payment and other practice-level assistance to help support that environment.
The pilot project will focus on six small and mid-size physician practices, each with general internists. The practices will have a minimum threshold of patients insured by UnitedHealth Group. Those patients will have the option to participate in the project.
Practices will have to demonstrate that they have capabilitiesin both infrastructure and personnelto provide patient-centered care. Enhanced payment will be given to primary care doctors whose care is based on the model and who demonstrate measurable improvements in the overall health of patients.
This is what physicians-in-training signed up for when they elected to become internists and this is the care that patients want and deserve, Kay Mitchell, MD, FACP, the other ACP Florida chapter governor, said. The PCMH has great promise for overcoming many of
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Contact: David Kinsman
dkinsman@acponline.org
202-261-4554
American College of Physicians
10-Aug-2007