Helpful Websites

Helpful Websites

Numerous organizations have been developed over the last several years to support advancing primary care and patient centered medical homes (PCMHs). Their sites include a variety of information, tool kits, and resources for a variety of stakeholders including employers.  Other existing health care related organizations have joined in supporting the movement. The following list includes a description of these organizations and links to their websites.

 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): A Federal Agency charged with researching and improving health care quality. This page provides definitions, evidence, and tools and resources for policy makers and researchers.

 

Catalyst for Payment Reform: A national organization led by health care purchasers, working to improve how we pay for health care in the US; includes a Payment Reform Toolkit that provides a framework, actions briefs, health plan RFI and model contracts for health plans.

 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): The federal agency responsible for administering Medicare and Medicaid. It and the Innovation Center are organizing and running two demonstration projects related to PCMH.

 

Commonwealth Fund: A private foundation promoting a high performing health care system that conducts research and provides grants. It has funded an initiative to develop consensus on Evaluating the Patient-Centered Medical Home: Cost, Utilization, and Clinical Quality

 

HealthAffairs: Journal articles related to health policy including research on patient centered medical homes

 

ICSI: Minnesota based quality improvement organization including information on care transformation

 

Medical Home for All: A website sponsored by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians for patients advocating for medical homes and primary care. It includes a definition of medical home, the patients view, employers who support the medical home and the medical home in practice.

 

Minnesota’s Health Care Home (HCH) website: The State of Minnesota’s website that provides information on finding a health care home, a description of certification requirements, resources for providers, payment methodology, outcomes measures, background and other information.

 

The National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH): A Coalition of employer coalitions across the country focused on value-based purchasing of health care services. It has been at the forefront of support for PCMH.

  • Action Brief for Patient Centered Medical Home: Includes a description of the primary care crisis, health plan activities, examples of high performing health plan support, and action items for employers including getting educated and engaged, holding your health plan accountable, supporting value based insurance design and joining a local business coalition.
  • Purchaser Guide: Includes a description of the PCMH, why purchasers should support it, actions purchaser can take to support it as well as case studies. It also includes appendices with standards, insurer contract language, an RFP template, and a list of pilots as of 2008.

 

National Committee Quality Assurance (NCQA): A national accreditation and certification organization for health plans, and other vendors that serve employers. It has established requirements for recognition that focuses primarily on structural aspects of care delivery including registries, health information technology and information exchanges. It has not developed requirements for processes of care or outcomes.

 

Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC): A collaborative formed by several large employers and physician groups in 2006. Their comprehensive website includes information for consumers and patients, providers and clinicians, employers and health plans and Federal and State Government.

 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: National foundation devoted to improving health and health care; includes articles, information on projects and initiatives related to care transformation