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Medical Home Program
Service Description
The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (PA AAP) administers the Pennsylvania Medical Home Training Program also known as “Educating Practices in Community Integrated Care (EPIC-IC)." The PA AAP has managed the statewide implementation of this project since 2002.
Mission
The mission of EPIC-IC is to enhance the quality of life for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) through recognition and support of families as the central caregivers for their child, effective community-based care coordination, and improved primary health care. This mission is consistent with one of the six performance outcome measures of the federal 10-year plan, All Aboard the 2010 Express, related to children with special health care needs. Outcome #2 states: “By 2010, all children with special health care needs will receive coordinated ongoing comprehensive care within a medical home." The mission is also consistent with the Title V Block Grant National Performance Measure 3 which measures the progress towards: “The percent of children with special health care needs age 0 to 18 who receive coordinated, ongoing, comprehensive care within a medical home." The expected outcome of the EPIC-IC project is “to improve the quality of life for CYSHCN and their families by continuing to build sustainable medical home teams in primary care practices and health care systems throughout Pennsylvania."
What is a Medical Home? 
A medical home is an approach to providing comprehensive health care to children with special health care needs. Health professionals and families work together as partners to identify and arrange all of the services needed to help the child with special health care needs to reach his/her potential. A medical home is patient-centered and accessible; provides comprehensive, continuous, coordinated services; has compassionate staff and is community-based and culturally competent.
A joint statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, and the American Osteopathic Association (March 2007) identified the following core principles of the medical home:
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Personal physician
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Physician directed medical practice
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Whole person orientation
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Care coordination across multiple systems
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Quality and safety
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Enhanced access
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Appropriate payment for services
For more information visit American Academy of Pediatrics Medical Home Initiative for CSHCN.
Program Accomplishments:
- As of July 1, 2007, over 60 pediatric practices have been trained in the EPIC-IC Medical Home Initiatives; currently 34 practices are actively involved in quality improvement.
- Over 8500 children have been identified in the participating practices as having a chronic condition.
- All six regions of Pennsylvania are have one or more medical home practices.
- Parent Partner involvement has increased to include almost 60 Parent Partners statewide.
- Data collection efforts have demonstrated a favorable impact of the medical home on health care utilization (fewer Emergency Department visits and hospitalizations), and increased family satisfaction and quality of life for CYSHCN and their families.
Who to Contact:
Want more information? Contact the Bureau of Family Health, Division of Community Systems Development and Outreach at 717-772-2763 or call the EPIC-IC Medical Home Program at 800-414-7391 or 484-446-3000.
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