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The Kansas Academy of Family Physicians has launched the Kansas Patient Centered Medical Home Initiative, involving eight practices.
The project, which begins this month, will run over the next three years.
The Kansas Health Foundation, Sunflower Foundation and United Methodist Health Ministry Fund have awarded grants totaling $534,576 to implement the effort.
“This is a significant provider-led initiative that we believe will enable high quality care (and) lead to improved outcomes at lower costs,” said Carolyn Gaughan, the KAFP’s executive director. “The initiative embodies the commitment of the state’s leading healthcare provider groups to move forward into a new medical home model that provides high quality care in Kansas and improves the overall health of our population.”
The initiative is designed to provide education and information about a medical home model of healthcare that is centered on patients, as well as encourage primary care physician practices to move to the patient-centered model as a way of improving clinical outcomes and, collectively, the health of entire populations of patients.
The use of electronic medical records to improve quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare by improving communication about and with patients is a major goal of the PCMH model.
"This project is a response to local needs for improved healthcare and lower costs," said KAFP President Jen Brull, MD, a physician from Plainville. "The benefit is win-win-win for physicians, patients and payers."
In 2007, the KAFP and three other state primary care medical societies began working on the "Kansas Primary Care Physician Coalition" to bring the PCMH to the attention of Kansas physicians, policy makers and the public. The coalition was involved in developing the 2008 legislation defining a medical home in Kansas.
The KAFP will run the initiative with assistance from coalition members and TransforMED, an organization specializing in practice redesign, which is affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians.
"The patient-centered medical home concept continues to evolve and is widely viewed by healthcare leaders and policy makers as the solution to many of the issues plaguing our healthcare system and as a means for ensuring the best outcomes for patients," said Terry McGeeney, MD, president and CEO of TransforMED, during a healthcare advisory meeting earlier this year.
Organizations involved in the Kansas Primary Care Physician Coalition and grant are the:
• Kansas Academy of Family Physicians;
• Kansas Association of Osteopathic Physicians;
• Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics;
• Kansas Chapter of the American College of Physicians; and
• Kansas Medical Society;
Gaughan cites the success of similar programs implemented in other states – for example, a North Carolina program that demonstrated savings of more than $200 million per year. It’s estimated that if every American had access to a PCMH, national healthcare expenditures would drop by more than 5.5 percent, or $67 billion per year.
"We believe the net results will be reduced costs, better healthcare outcomes and healthier patients," said Gaughan. "We are so grateful to the funders for their foresight and willingness to fund this important initiative."
