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What is a Health Care Home?
A "health care home" is an approach to primary care in which primary care providers, families and patients work in partnership to improve health and quality of life for individuals, especially those with chronic health conditions and disabilities.
An RN Care Coordinator is available to answer questions, provide support and is the contact for further coordination of care.
Your Health Care Home Is:
- Accessible – It is located in your community.
- Family-Centered –Your provider understands you and your family’s medical needs.
- Continuous – You regularly see the same primary care doctor.
- Comprehensive – Most of the health care services that you need can be found at your health care home.
- Coordinated – Your regular provider keeps a central medical record of all your health information. If you need to see more than one doctor your health care team coordinates your care for you.
- Compassionate – Your doctor and other medical providers have a genuine concern for you and your family.
- Culturally Competent – Your provider respects your cultural and religious beliefs.
The above elements are based on the desirable characteristics of a medical home as outlined in The Medical Home. Pediatrics 2002; 110;184-186
Benefits of a Health Care Home
- Your primary care provider partners with you and others on your care team to help manage your care.
- You receive coordinated care that is tailored to fit your needs.
- You receive improved ability to communicate and make appointments with your health care team.
- You are valued and treated as the central member of your health care team.
- You and your primary care provider share mutual respect and trust.
- Your cultural and religious beliefs are valued. When possible, your preferences for treatment and care are met.
- You are given information to help you learn more about your ongoing health concerns.
- Your primary care provider makes sure you understand the treatment choices.
- Your health care team or Care Coordinator will help you find specialty care or community services when needed and will make or update your care plan with you.
How Can I Get the Best Care?
To prepare for your health care home visit and become more involved with your health care:
- Bring a list of your top questions or concerns to discuss at every visit.
- Bring a list of the medications that you take.
- If you have a chronic health condition, ask for a care plan that you can use to communicate with other medical providers, nurses or other people involved in your care. A care plan should include information about your diagnoses, names of providers you see, other caregivers who help you, medicines you take, etc.
- Be open and honest about your health habits. Your primary care provider is here to help you, not judge you.
- Ask for something to be repeated if you do not understand it.
- Ask your primary care provider to write down the next steps.
- Ask about how to get care after hours if needed.
- Ask specialist providers to send reports to your primary care provider.
Your Health Care Home Team
As your health care home, we will work with you to assist you in managing your health, setting goals, providing education and accessing other health care professionals when necessary.
Our goal is to provide care that is patient and family-centered. This will be care that has easy and convenient access and is based on your individual preferences. This partnership will support a strong, ongoing relationship with your personal provider, trained to provide first point of contact, continuous and comprehensive care, including preventative, acute and chronic care. We look forward to working with you to develop new ways to better manage your health.
Did You Know?
- Most of the health care services that you need can be found at your health care home.
- People with health care home have fewer hospitalizations and miss fewer days of work or school.*
- Chronic “unmanaged” diseases and unnecessary emergency room visits or hospitalizations account for more then 70% of the nation’s health care expenses. Health care homes can reduce the total cost of care.
*Especially for people with special health care needs.
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