At the 7th Annual Ix Conference, “Next-Generation Patient-Centered Care,” we are having a track on the second day about The Role of Ix in Enabling the Patient-Centered Medical Home. We’ll have quite varied perspectives on the topic, ranging from the American College of Physicians to innovative implementers.

One of the big questions that will be addressed by Kaiser Permanente physician David Sobel (a guru for decades in health education and engaging consumers in managing their own care) is, “Who’s the PCP in the patient-centered medical home?” and “whose home is it anyway?” Here’s the abstract for his session:

Who’s the PCP in the Patient-Centered Medical Home?
David Sobel, MD, MPH

Whose home is it anyway? And is anyone home? A true patient-centered approach recognizes the patient as the true primary care provider and the true medical home needs to be designed and built with patient involvement. What are the basic structural requirements for a patient-centered medical home to serve patient’s need for information, care, and psychological support? How can emerging technologies allow for remodeling of the home? And how can subcontractors (i.e., health professionals) be managed and retrained to allow for co-habitation and true partnership? What skills do home-owners need? Finally, even if the financing and incentive issues could be solved (e.g. in a prepaid group practice), what walls still exist to co-ownership of the medical home and how can these walls be remodeled?

David always taks a thoughtful and provocative approach, and I think it will be a good way to frame the debate.

Other faculty for this track include:

• Rushika Fernandopulle, MD, MPP, Co-Founder, Renaissance Health (Track Chair)
• Michael Barr, MD, MBA, Vice President, Practice Advocacy & Improvement, American College of Physicians
• Ted Eytan, MD, MS, MPH, Medical Director, Health Informatics and Web Services, Group Health Cooperative
• Kerry Meyer, PhD, ARNP, RN, Care Manager, Valley Medical Center, who will be presenting with one Valley’s patients

If you’re interested in seeing what the real opportunities are for patient-centered medical homes, come to the conference next week (June 12-13) at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

The cost, access, and quality crisis that is American health care has many people searching for silver bullets. We have heard (to address two examples) about how ubiquitous, interconnected electronic health records (EHRs) will create great efficiencies in care delivery and how reimbursement reform–such as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model–will rejuvenate our struggling primary care system.

It’s not that there’s no truth to these arguments but rather that they need to be more specific. As Steve Downs wrote on RWJF’s Pioneer Blog a month ago, Gordon Moore points out in an RWJF-funded white paper that much of the EHR advancement has missed the point or failed to maximize HIT’s potential. Moore is right that the focus of EHR systems should be more about clinician workflow and creating better continuity of care as care delivery passes through a series of steps. I would add that greater focus on creating connections for the patient/consumer is just as important.

There’s no doubt that advocates of the PCMH model are correct that we need to place greater emphasis on both primary care and a more holistic approach to care management. To promote effective ongoing care management, reimbursement needs to encourage more than just trips to the doctor’s office. But for it to work, PCMH must be truly patient-centered and the existing official principles are somewhat vague as to how to meet patients’ needs.

The 7th Annual Ix Conference, “WIxRED: Next-Generation Patient-Centered Care” will explore both of these topics in great detail: How can we ensure that we maximize the potential of these important developments? What are the keys to addressing consumers’ real needs? How can they help to reform a broken health care delivery system?

Join us to help answer these questions on June 12-13 at the Newseum in Washington, DC.