Medical Home Service Targets Small Groups

The TransforMED consultancy subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians has introduced a new service to help small primary care practices to implement its patient-centered medical home model of care in two years.

Under the medical home model, physician practices are designated patients' "medical home" to coordinate the continuum of care. The practices are redesigned to be more functional and workflow-friendly, and new processes are developed to focus on quality, safety and alternative reimbursement methods. The care model also calls for extensive use of health information technologies, including electronic health records, e-prescribing, clinical decision support, secure messaging and Web portal software.

TransforMED's "Small Practice Package" is designed for practices with four or fewer physicians. For $1,250 per practice per quarter, a practice has access to TransforMED experts to help implement a medical home model. The consultancy will provide Web-based assessments, education, and an implementation plan and timeline. Each practice will have a designated consultant providing virtual support during the process. An optional service offers onsite assessments during the process at $2,500 per practice per quarter.

Both services include a teleconference, web seminars, video conferencing, peer-to-peer collaboration, and free admission to two educational forums each year. More information is available at transformed.com.

--Joseph Goedert