"...Statistics so far show the medical home model costs insurers less. 'In other pilots we're doing longer, we're seeing a 30 percent reduction in hospitalizations and ER visits,' McGeeney said. 'I'm expecting the same kind of numbers in this pilot.' McGeeney said the model has saved private insurance providers and government-run ones, such as Medicaid, on average 10 percent to 12 percent in health care costs. Illinois Medicaid, he said, reported it saved $300 million from the model last year alone.

Last year, TransforMED helped 15 of the roughly 25 U.S. pilot programs. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, which is private, is paying more than $1 million for TransforMED’s services throughout the two-year Kansas City area pilot. 'We have been trying to improve quality and efficiency in health care for years'” said Blake Williamson, vice president and senior medical director of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City. 'With health care reform, that's getting even more important. I think the medical home model is going to be even more important in the future.'..."

Read The Kansas City Star story at KansasCity.com»

• Read the 8-part supplement »
• Read the press release »
• Read the ANN article »

Marcia Nielsen, PhD, MPH, joined the TransforMED Board of Managers effective June 1st. She replaced Jeff Gruen, MD, MBA. More »

Allan Goroll, MD, MACP, joins the TransforMED team of practice transformation experts. He specializes in primary health care reform, with an emphasis on PCMH payment reform. More »

It's been just a year since rural Salina Family HealthCare Center and the Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency Program launched their medical home transformation initiative with the help of TransforMED.

They made significant health information technology improvements for efficiency, quality and safety. They implemented an innovative "Four Team Concept". And they added numerous service enhancements that directly benefit their rural patient population. At the same time, they completed a significant organizational re-alignment. Dr. Freelove's group's accomplishments are both astonishing and inspiring.

Read about their PCMH transformation accomplishments »

Transformation to a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a challenging task in and of itself, not to mention that payers often require participating practices to achieve NCQA certification in order to qualify for enhanced reimbursement within a pilot project. We're proud to announce that we helped 22 practices reach and often exceed their NCQA recognition goals — in less than a year. Click here to read more »

Click here to find out more about TransforMED's PCMH facilitation services »

Joseph Mambu, MD : Achieving NCQA Level III
Family Medicine, Geriatrics and Wellness in Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania was recently recognized as a NCQA Level III Patient-Centered Medical Home. Practice leader, Joseph Mambu, MD answered a few questions about his practice's experience and offered some persuasive numbers: "As a participant in the SEPA Chronic Care Collaborative, we were financially incented to obtain our NCQA medical home certification...Our PPC-PCMH™ earned us approximately $57,000 for year one and $106,000 in both years two and three of the collaborative."

Read this fun and insightful Q&A with Dr. Mambu »

TransforMED brings value to Primary Care through a strategic transformation process combined with an integrated suite of practice transformation products and services— all derived from our experiences facilitating the NDP and designed to create a framework, a common language and an opportunity for practices to become Patient-Centered Medical Homes:

• Delta-Exchange collaborative network
• Medical Home Facilitation
• Baseline Practice Assessment
• Practice Retreat

Which approach is right for your practice?

The new government economic stimulus package has provided significant incentives for physician practices to purchase and put to "meaningful use" an electronic health record (EHR) system — but the high costs, time and complexity of implementing an EHR system can be challenging for your team and your budget.

This archived online seminar demonstrates how the new EHR Prep-Select tool helps practices meet the challenge by walking you through a simple and effective step-by-step process of planning and preparation. Learn more about the year-1 meaningful use criteria for physicians at AAFP's "Noteworthy" blog.

This webinar will help you get your EHR transformation on track. CLICK HERE to access the webinar »

Jonathan Hager, MD, an internist with Alexander Medical Group in Rochester, New York piloted the EHR Prep-Select program. Read what he had to had to say about it in Modern Medicine's "10 EHR lessons from 10 practices".

TransforMED Practice Enhancement Facilitators are sharing their learnings in a series of workbooks that provide practices concise, step-by-step information on relevant topics in health care delivery and will be instrumental in ensuring success for your practice. The first two books titled the Patient-Centered Medical Home Access Workbook and the Patient-Centered Medical Home Care Management Workbook are now available for purchase.

Click here to find out more and get a promotional code so you can take advantage of the discounted TransforMED Member price »

A Message from Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: "Ultimately, we believe 'meaningful use' should embody the goals of a transformed health system."

Read Dr. Blumenthal's letter »

Learn about "meaningful use" and HITECH grant programs at the HHS website »

Delta-Exchange is TransforMED's collaborative social networking site dedicated to helping primary care practices understand and implement the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model-of-care. Delta-Exchange offers access to immediately useful PCMH "best practices" and the opportunity to collaborate, discuss issues and ask questions of both TransforMED expert facilitators and practice leaders who've "been there".

For $30 a month per user, you can connect with medical practice transformation experts, thought leaders, and practices much like yours who are also working to make patient-centered medical home changes. Learn from experts and each other – keep up your spirits and your momentum

"It's the conversations between meetings that really matter. TransforMED's Delta Exchange is better than any listserv tool to help vet ideas, share learnings and promote collaboration."

TransforMED's Vice President of Practice Development and Organizational Change, Christine Johnson, PhD talks to Physicians Practice about "how to effectively diffuse disagreements and preempt disputes"– especially important as practices evolve to a team model.

Read the article at Physicians Practice online »

The Robert Graham Center has released a new one-pager entitled "The Effect of Facilitation in Fostering Practice" by Carlos Roberto Jaén MD PhD, et al. The report summarizes the researchers' findings that "Working with facilitation agents measurably improves the ability of motivated primary care practices to move towards improved models of care." Read the report »

Find out about TransforMED's facilitation services »

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has launched a new section of its Web site geared towards the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). This new "mini-site" was created by the AAFP to make family physicians' transition to the medical home as smooth as possible.

Read more about the AAFP's new PCMH online resource area »

• Is it easier for practices to provide chronic disease management if they have a self-populating disease registry integrated within the EMR?
• What has been the experience of rural practices trying to implement an EMR and related technology?
• What are the primary challenges facing medical practices as they implement EMR and other forms of HIT?
• Is implementing HIT enough to transform a PC practice into a medical home?
• What type of support/resources, if any, do practices need as they attempt to make transformative changes?

Read on for preliminary answers to these questions and more »

PATIENT EDUCATION TOOLS FOR PRIMARY CARE PRACTICES

TransforMED Partners with Emmi Solutions to Educate Patients About the Benefits of the Patient-Centered Medical Home

INTRODUCTION TO THE PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOME

Emmi Solutions, TransforMED and the PCPCC have partnered to create a web-based patient education tool designed to play an integral role in the transformation of primary care practices to Patient-Centered Medical Homes.

The result is an engaging and education multimedia experience that helps patients understand the Patient-Centered Medical Home and their important role in the collaborative health and wellness relationship with their primary care practice. Click here to find out more »

Put this exciting patient education tool on your website for FREE by clicking the "Download it" button, above.

Romeo Medical Clinic featured in AP's "Faces of health care" online video

Associated Press Interactive has published online a series of "Faces of health care" videos that explores the health care debate from the perspectives of eight different groups of stakeholders.

The "Doctors" video in the series features TransforMED National Demonstration Project participants Mike Romeo, MD; Sam Romeo, MD; and Chris Hawley, MD from the Romeo Medical Clinic in Turlock, CA.

This TransforMED Touchstone Group practice was chosen for inclusion because it epitomizes most aspects of the patient-centered medical home.

Watch the video at Associated Press »
Once at AP's site, click on "Doctors"
to view the Romeo Medical Clinic video

Flash movie OR Windows movie

Be a part of the positive change in primary practice!
The AAFP has produced a powerful video featuring TransforMED's National Demonstration Project participant physicians — and their patients — sharing their views on how the Patient-Centered Medical Home has positively transformed their primary care experiences.

You can make transform your practice! Find out how »