Abstract
BackgroundPatient Centred Medical Homes (PCMHs), increasingly evidenced to provide high quality primary care, are new to Australia. To learn how this promising new healthcare model works in an Australian setting we explored experiences of healthcare providers in outer urban Sydney, where a number of practices are transitioning from traditional Australian general practice models to incorporate elements of PCMH approaches.MethodsWe collected qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers working in a range of transitioning practices and thematically analysed the data. We interviewed 35 participants including general practitioners, practice managers and practice nurses from 25 purposively sampled general practices in western Sydney, Australia, seeking maximal variation in practice size, patient demographics and type of engagement in practice transformation.ResultsInterviewees described PCMH transformation highlighting the importance of whole of practice engagement with a shared vision; key strategies for transformation to PCMH models of care including leadership, training and supportive information technology; structures and processes required to provide team-based, data-driven care; and constraints such as lack of space and the current Australian fee-for-service general practice funding model. They also reported their perceptions of early outcomes of the PCMH model of care, describing enhanced patient and staff satisfaction and also noting fewer hospital admissions, as likely to reduce costs of care.ConclusionsOur study exploring the experience of early adopters of PCMH models of care in Australia, informs the international movement towards PCMH models of care. Our findings provide guidance for practices considering similar transitions and describe the challenges of such transitions within a fee-for-service payment system.
Highlights
Patient Centred Medical Homes (PCMHs), increasingly evidenced to provide high quality primary care, are new to Australia
This paper presents the qualitative findings of a larger program of research that includes cost estimates of PCMH transformation [16]
Eighteen participants were from the eight PCMH transitioning practices, two from formerPCMH practices, five from non-PCMH Integrated Care Program practices and 10 from non-PCMH, nonIntegrated Care practices (Table 1)
Summary
Patient Centred Medical Homes (PCMHs), increasingly evidenced to provide high quality primary care, are new to Australia. The transformation of primary care practices into Patient Centred Medical Homes (PCMHs) has been proposed as a means of enabling high quality healthcare [2, 3]. More recently PCMH practice transformation has been described based on 10 “building blocks” characterising high-performing primary care [8] These “building blocks” consist of four foundation blocks: engaged leadership, data-driven improvement, empanelment (linking the patient to a care team and a primary care physician), and team-based care and six higher order blocks: patient-team partnership, population management, continuity of care, prompt access to care, comprehensiveness and care coordination, and template of the future [8]
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