HomeWhat's New TransforMED Learning Collaborative Focuses on Transformation to Patient-Centered Care in a Medical Home

TransforMED Learning Collaborative Focuses on Transformation to Patient-Centered Care in a Medical Home

10/30/2007

By Rhondda Francis

The TransforMED Learning Collaborative for Facilitated Practices participating in the National Demonstration Project (NDP) convened September 13 through 15, 2007, in Kansas City, with an emphasis on the Medical Home and peer-to-peer sharing of real-world solutions emerging from the demonstration project.

Held at The Westin Crown Center, the three-day session included presentations on practice finances, practice metrics, proper documentation, an update from the evaluation team, as well as concurrent sharing sessions dealing with the barriers and successes of practice management and patient empowerment. For the first time, CME/CEU credits were available for physicians and nurses who attended the session.

In his opening remarks, Rick Kellerman, MD, AAFP President and family physician told the attendees, "You're the innovators. You may not always recognize that what you're doing is historic, but the outcomes of what you're doing are going to be dissected and talked about for years to come." Dr. Kellerman stressed the need for Family Medicine practices to become personal medical homes that provide seamless coordinated care and treat patients rather than illnesses, saying, "We need to try and see our practices through the eyes of patients. I think that's what the personal medical home is all about."

A large group of physicians and health care administrators from Harbour Health, a Public Health Organisation in Auckland, New Zealand attended the Learning Collaborative as special guest observers. In her opening remarks to the NDP attendees, Susan Turner, CEO of Harbour Health sang a traditional Maori song of greeting. Similarly, John Cameron, MD, a General Practicioner, gave welcome and introduced himself from a Maori perspective, relating his person to his relationship to the land by naming "his" specific rivers and mountains.

The New Zealand group has twice visited TransforMED and several of the NDP practices. They are interested in the TransforMED Medical Home model as an integrated strategy for addressing problems and implementing improvements in primary care in New Zealand.

TransforMED professional staff presented valuable information on a variety of core topics, as well as critical practice benchmarking data. Practice Enhancement Facilitator, Jim Arend, MBA, presented financial benchmarking for the participating practices. Practice Metric Manager, Elaine Skoch, RN, MN, presented data and benchmarks from recent "Wait Time" and "Patient Experience" NDP practice surveys, explaining how metrics are integral to successful improvement and reminding everyone: "if it can't be measured, it can't be managed." Research Analyst, Elizabeth Stewart, PhD, presented a refresher on the methods and measures of the evaluation process being lead by the Center for Research in Family Medicine and Primary Care and provided feedback from the baseline Patient Outcome Surveys.

Interspersed among the presentations were informal panel discussions moderated by TransforMED staff in which the doctors, nurses and practice managers involved in the Facilitated NDP gave an overview of the TransforMED components recently instituted in their practices, discussed their experiences and took questions from their colleagues. The logistical successes large and small were balanced against the difficulties; many attendees found great humor in these "war stories." Regardless of the topic, the energy and the dedication to both improving their practices and the care they provide to their patients was inspiring. Many NDP participants noted that assembling the right team and developing good communication is paramount at the outset of any well-managed change initiative. Another area of great interest and hope for the future expressed by the attendees was chronic disease management and registries.

A panel discussion on the Medical Home, moderated by TransforMED Executive Director, Marly McMillen, MBA, was of particular interest to many. Several of the panel participants emphasized that the current concept of the Medical Home has long been the promise and unique calling of Family Medicine. Many seemed to dislike the term "Medical Home" but Dr. Joseph Mambu of Family Medicine, Geriatrics and Wellness in Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania pointed out that "the government is now using that term instead of primary care and so it's probably here to stay." But it seemed an equal number liked the term, saying that "home" is a word of welcome that alludes to family, caring and trust. From the perspective of many on the panel, a fully functioning, community-connected Family Medicine practice is a Medical Home.

Again and again, the discussion turned to the relationship of trust between Family Medicine physicians, with many noting that while patients have access to great quantities of information because of the Internet, it's "information overload" — they don't know what to do with all that information. The panelists and the audience discussed Medical Home certification; while many resisted the idea, Dr. Bob Eidus of Cranford Family Practice in Cranford, New Jersey strongly asserted that "If we all want and, in fact, need and deserve to be paid more — and we do — we need to develop a precise definition, standardized and clearly defined, so we can have metrics."

Dr. Susan Andrews seemed to sum up the feelings of many on the panel and in the audience when she said, "I came to family practice because it's what I believe in. The Medical Home is the ideal of Family Medicine put into practice. So, yes, it's an old idea. But the fact that it's a new term gives us a new opportunity to redefine ourselves. That's a good thing."

TransforMED CEO Terry McGeeney, MD, MBA reiterated that idea in his remarks on the last day of the learning Collaborative. "Key players are coming to see that TransforMED is the embodiment of the Medical Home — that TransforMED is what it means to practice patient-centered, evidence-based care," he said. "The future of our specialty is being developed by the work we are doing here together. It's our responsibility to re-define Family Medicine. It's our responsibility to take the lead in the national discussion, because primary care — Family Medicine — is foundational to health care in America."

About TransforMED

The Leawood, Kan.-based TransforMED LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Established in 2005, TransforMED provides ongoing consultation and support to physicians looking to transform their practices to a new model of care that is based on the concept of a patient-centered medical home. TransforMED is an active member of primary care communities and recognizes and supports the unique value that primary care offers to patients and the health care system. TransforMED shares and supports the idealism and altruism of primary care physicians and the strong commitment to their communities and patients through continuing patient relationships and independent decision making. TransforMED offers practices both products and services, including consultation and advice on implementing the patient centered medical home model. To learn more about TransforMED, visit www.transformed.com.