What is a Patient Centered Medical Home?
A Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is not a building, house or hospital, but rather an approach to providing comprehensive health care.
A Medical Home is called a “Home” because we’d like our health center to be the first place you think of for all your medical needs. Our goal is to make it easy and comfortable to get the care you need in a way that works best for you.
As your healthcare provider, we are here to facilitate a personal partnership with you and your family to provide you with the best quality, comprehensive, and progressive primary care. This includes care for all stages of life: acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end of life care. The Medical Home also provides enhanced care through open scheduling, expanded hours, and fostering communication amongst patients, physicians, and staff.
All of Low Country Health Care System’s primary care sites are Patient Centered Medical Homes. As a Medical Home, our goal is to make it easy and comfortable for you to get the care you need in a way that works best for you. Our approach is to provide comprehensive health care by positioning your physicians to provide, oversee and coordinate all of your care. Your physician will lead a team of individuals who collectively take responsibility for your ongoing care. This includes care for all stages of life: acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end of life care. Your provider and healthcare team will coordinate your care with other elements of the health care system, such as sub-specialty care, hospitals, home health agencies, and nursing homes. Open scheduling, expanded hours, and new options for communication between patients, their personal provider and staff make it easier and quicker to get the care you need.
A Medical Home is called a “Home” because we’d like our health center to be the first place you think of for all your medical needs. Our goal is to make it easy and comfortable to get the care you need in a way that works best for you.
As your healthcare provider, we are here to facilitate a personal partnership with you and your family to provide you with the best quality, comprehensive, and progressive primary care. This includes care for all stages of life: acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end of life care. The Medical Home also provides enhanced care through open scheduling, expanded hours, and fostering communication amongst patients, physicians, and staff.
All of Low Country Health Care System’s primary care sites are Patient Centered Medical Homes. As a Medical Home, our goal is to make it easy and comfortable for you to get the care you need in a way that works best for you. Our approach is to provide comprehensive health care by positioning your physicians to provide, oversee and coordinate all of your care. Your physician will lead a team of individuals who collectively take responsibility for your ongoing care. This includes care for all stages of life: acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end of life care. Your provider and healthcare team will coordinate your care with other elements of the health care system, such as sub-specialty care, hospitals, home health agencies, and nursing homes. Open scheduling, expanded hours, and new options for communication between patients, their personal provider and staff make it easier and quicker to get the care you need.
Why are all of our locations Patient Centered Medical Homes?
Our culture is one of continuous improvement with the result of providing high-quality care for all of the patients we serve. We believe the Patient-Centered Medical Home model will help us do this. By positioning your physician to provide, oversee, and coordinate all of your care, the PCMH model seeks to strengthen the physician-patient relationship.
It will replace episodic care based on symptoms and illnesses with coordinated, whole person care and long-term healing relationships. As our patient, you will enjoy an ongoing relationship with a personal physician. Your physician leads a team that takes collective responsibility for your care.
It will replace episodic care based on symptoms and illnesses with coordinated, whole person care and long-term healing relationships. As our patient, you will enjoy an ongoing relationship with a personal physician. Your physician leads a team that takes collective responsibility for your care.
Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home:
Personal Provider: Each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal provider trained to provide first contact and continuous, comprehensive care. In addition, your personal provider leads a team of individuals who collectively take responsibility for your ongoing care.
Whole-Person Orientation: Your personal provider is responsible for providing all your health care needs or taking responsibility for appropriately arranging care with other qualified professionals. This includes care for all stages of life: acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end of life care.
Care Is Coordinated or Integrated: Your provider and healthcare team will coordinate your care with other elements of the health care system, such as subspecialty care, hospitals, home health agencies, and nursing homes. They are also equipped to integrate this care with your family and any public or private community services that you may currently use or that may be of benefit to you.
Quality and Safety: By centralizing your care in one place, the potential for errors is minimized. Moreover, by putting the focus on you, our patient, the quality of care is enhanced.
Enhanced Access to Care: Open scheduling, expanded hours and new options for communication between patients, their personal provider and practice staff make it easier and quicker to get the care you need.
Whole-Person Orientation: Your personal provider is responsible for providing all your health care needs or taking responsibility for appropriately arranging care with other qualified professionals. This includes care for all stages of life: acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end of life care.
Care Is Coordinated or Integrated: Your provider and healthcare team will coordinate your care with other elements of the health care system, such as subspecialty care, hospitals, home health agencies, and nursing homes. They are also equipped to integrate this care with your family and any public or private community services that you may currently use or that may be of benefit to you.
Quality and Safety: By centralizing your care in one place, the potential for errors is minimized. Moreover, by putting the focus on you, our patient, the quality of care is enhanced.
Enhanced Access to Care: Open scheduling, expanded hours and new options for communication between patients, their personal provider and practice staff make it easier and quicker to get the care you need.
As your personal provider, my responsibilities are to:
- Explain diseases, treatments, and results in an easy-to-understand way.
- Listen to your feelings and questions, which will help us make decisions about your care.
- Keep your treatments, discussions, and records confidential.
- Provide same-day appointments whenever possible.
- Provide instructions on how to meet your health care needs when our office is not open through our After-Hours Answering Service, which provides 24-hour access to medical care.
- Give you clear directions about medicine and other treatments.
- Send you to a trusted specialist if needed.
- End every visit making sure that you have clear instructions about expectations, treatment goals, and future plans.
As our patient, your responsibilities are:
- Ask questions, share your feelings and take an active part in your care.
- Be honest about your history, symptoms, and other important information, including any changes in your health and wellbeing.
- Take all your medicine as directed and inform us whenever there is a problem with the medication you are taking.
- Make health decisions about your daily habits and lifestyle.
- Keep your scheduled appointments or reschedule in advance whenever possible.
- Call our office first with your health concerns, unless it is an emergency.
- Be sure you leave our office with a clear understanding of our expectations, treatment goals and future plans.
Progress towards Quality Goals as of October 2022.
LCHCS progress toward clinical quality goals as of October 2022, including current results, recent changes, and established targets for each measure.
