Engaging Specialty Practices in the Patient Centered Medical Neighborhood

Building on last week’s post regarding embracing change for healthcare transofrmation, it was intriguing to learn about the NCQA’s new patient centered medical home program for specialty practices.

Building on last week’s post regarding embracing change for healthcare transofrmation, it was intriguing to learn about the NCQA’s new patient centered medical home program for specialty practices. Kicking off March 25th, the Patient Centered Specialty Practice (PCSP)recognition highlights specialty practices committed to access, communication and care coordination as “neighbors” that surround and inform the medical home and colleagues in primary care, according to NCQA.  And I regret to say that I missed the informational webinar, including an NCQA advisor and guest speaker from one of the local healthcare systems.

Had I attended the webinar, I would have been better prepared to query the CEO of a hospital within the same healthcare system at a recent American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) function.  Interestingly, we had a lengthy conversation regarding the system’s desire to exchange data within the area; however, the CEO noted that current system architecture made it challenging enough to simply share information amongst health system participants.  With one of the key tenets for the PCSP recognition being timely exchange of data, this is a bit of a conundrum.  While the Direct project offers a simple solution, the ultimate goal will be to facilitate and encourage physicians to search for records in efforts to keep all parties abreast of the care plan.  And while this is a tremendous step, we also noted that retail & urgent care clinics, solo primary care practices and free-standing care centers need to get in on the game too.

I also see a need for ancillary providers to be included as well.  Not only would individuals benefit from the opportunity to view x-rays but, more to the point, visualizations, similar to the one here.  While Physical Therapists do an excellent job engaging patients in discussion, they would have far greater impact with the ability to illustrate their points on an interactive tablet app.  And thinking out loud, wouldn’t it be great for individuals to be able to reference the same app at home – to review the information and implement “their’ steps in the care plan?