TransforMED - Transforming Medical Practices

National Demonstration Project

In June 2006, TransforMED launched a 24-month National Demonstration Project (NDP) to rigorously pilot test a new model of flexible, patient-centered care in 36 family medicine practices from all across the United States. This innovative practice redesign project, the result of several years of important research, is a real-world test that holds the promise of changing the way primary care is delivered in America.

Find out more about the family practices participating in the TransforMED NDP.

Goals and Process

The goal of this National Demonstration Project is to assess the usefulness and impact on quality of care and business performance of the Future of Family Medicine Report's new model. The new model unites the enduring relationship-centered values of Family Medicine with new technologies and approaches to enable practices to better serve the needs of both patients and practices.

The hypothesis is that the new model's best practices will improve patient care, patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction and business performance. Additionally, it is hypothesized that facilitated practice redesign, in which practices receive tailored consultation and support from experts in the area of redesign and change management may result in faster improved outcomes than self-directed transformation.

The participating practices were randomly assigned to one of two groups:

18 facilitated practices will engage in a transformative process to fully implement a new model of care
18 self directed practices will be provided the information to implement the model of care in a self directed manner.

Proven methods and measures will help the project identify the most efficient and effective way to implement transformative practice redesign as well as potential unintended consequences. Real-time evaluation to determine the impact of the new model on quality of care and business performance will be coupled with a learning lab model with "lessons learned" available as they emerge.

Knowledge gained from this project will inform the development of practice enhancement tools and processes to benefit fellow family physicians and their patients across the country. This information will also contribute to the literature, and policy and practice work on health care improvement.

Key learnings will be synthesized and disseminated on an on-going basis among the demonstration sites and within the larger practice community.

Following the conclusion of the pilot project, the evaluation team will conduct an intensive analysis of the results, summarizing and synthesizing both the data and the insights gleaned from the implementation.

Key findings on the process and outcomes will be submitted for publication in the peer-reviewed literature. The Center for Research in Family Medicine and Primary Care evaluation team has the authority to independently publish both positive and negative findings from this project. A final report is expected in early 2009.

IN THIS SECTION

About the Nat'l Demonstration Project

The TransforMED Medical Home Model

Participating Practices

"The National Demonstration Project will provide an objective view into what the TransforMED Medical Home Model looks like in real-world practices, and it will measure the Model’s effect on practice and patient outcomes. Perhaps most importantly, the knowledge gained from this project will be used to further more widespread efforts to transform practices with the goal of improving the quality of care for patients."

Terry McGeeney, MD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of TransforMED

PHASE I. A National Demonstration Project: Evaluation of the Model

Practices chosen to participate in the project begin implementation of all elements of the model of care and will be evaluated in real-time to determine the model’s impact on the quality of care delivered and business performance.

PHASE II. Support for Early Adopters

TransforMED will capture and hone best practices, conduct site visits, facilitate collaborative meetings, and engage in ongoing analysis with the facilitated NDP practices. TransforMED will share available emerging insights and key findings as well on-line practice assessment tools and resources as they become available.

PHASE III. Full Implementation

Results of the demonstration project will be shared and TransforMED will make its emergent services and knowledge base available to primary care practices seeking to transform.