New low cost workforce is effective in decreasing depression burden in primary care
(Indiana University) Aging Brain Care Medical Home, a novel brain-focused population health management program implemented in older adults' homes by low cost workforce, lowered depression severity by more than 50 percent over six months. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - November 3, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

New model of care offers MACRA advantage
Applications are due on Sept. 15 for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) five-year primary care medical home model, Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+). This model builds on experience with an ongoing five-year pilot model by making significant improvements that could help participating physician practices succeed —and it could also help your practice during the upcoming Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) transition. Under MACRA, physicians can either participate in the new Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or an Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM). Qualifying APM par...
Source: AMA Wire - September 7, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Timothy Smith Source Type: news

CDC: Test All Infants With Evidence of Zika Infection After Birth
(MedPage Today) -- And establish medical home for any infant with positive test (Source: MedPage Today Infectious Disease)
Source: MedPage Today Infectious Disease - August 19, 2016 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

HHS awards more than $8.6 million for Health Centers to Improve Care Coordination and Become Patient-Centered Medical Homes
The funding will help 246 health centers in 43 states improve their quality of care with the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) health care delivery model. (Source: HSR Information Central)
Source: HSR Information Central - August 17, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

HRSA: Notice of Single-Award Deviation From Competition Requirements for the National Center for Medical Home Implementation Cooperative Agreement
The Health and Human Services Administration awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics, the awardee of the National Center for Medical Home Implementation (NCMHI) Cooperative Agreement, an additional $600,000 over two years to provide technical assistance to the Rural IMPACT communities. The Rural IMPACT project aims to support the healthy development and future economic mobility of children in rural and tribal areas. Additionally, the project seeks to improve the well-being of these families, providing education and employment opportunities for parents. (Source: Federal Register updates via the Rural Assistance Center)
Source: Federal Register updates via the Rural Assistance Center - August 15, 2016 Category: Rural Health Source Type: news

Lack of Personnel, Communication Skills Impede Medical Home Implementation Lack of Personnel, Communication Skills Impede Medical Home Implementation
Pediatricians cite insufficient personnel and a lack of communication skills as barriers to care coordination and family centered medical home implementation.Reuters Health Information (Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines)
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines - August 10, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Family Medicine/Primary Care News Source Type: news

Pelzman's Picks: Sen. Warren on Data Sharing
(MedPage Today) -- Also: overdose as murder, useless surgery, CMS medical homes (Source: MedPage Today Primary Care)
Source: MedPage Today Primary Care - August 9, 2016 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

A primary care model for the new Medicare payment system
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the open application period for physician practices to participate in a new, nationwide primary care payment model. Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) is a primary care medical home that could qualify physicians for the incentive payment for AdvancedAlternative Payment Model (APM) participants under the new Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) starting in 2019. In designing CPC+, CMS tried to build on physicians ’ experience with its predecessor medical home model and give participating practices better opportunities for success....
Source: AMA Wire - August 8, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Troy Parks Source Type: news

CMS Picks Arkansas for CPC+ Model; Practices Can Apply Through Sept. 15
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week that Arkansas has been selected as one of 14 regions nationwide where primary care practices can participate in a new five-year multi-payer payment model called Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+). The model will launch in January. Practices that serve Medicare patients (ages 65-plus) can apply through Sept. 15 for the public-private partnership program. According to CMS, with CPC+, Medicare, state Medicaid agencies and private insurance companies partner to support primary care practices, moving the health care system away from a one-size-fits-a...
Source: Arkansas Business - Health Care - August 5, 2016 Category: American Health Source Type: news

Lessons From the Community-Centered Health Home Demonstration Project: Patient-Centered Medical Homes Can Improve Health Conditions in Their Surrounding Communities
(Source: CDC Preventing Chronic Disease)
Source: CDC Preventing Chronic Disease - August 4, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

AHRQ: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request
This notice announces the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to request that the Office of Management and Budget approve the proposed information collection project: “The Patient-Centered Medical Home Items Demonstration Study.” The patient-centered medical home is a model for delivering primary care that is patient-centered, comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, and continuously improved through a systems-based approach to quality and safety. (Source: Federal Register updates via the Rural Assistance Center)
Source: Federal Register updates via the Rural Assistance Center - August 3, 2016 Category: Rural Health Source Type: news

CMS Announces next Phase in Largest-ever Initiative to Improve Primary Care in America
The Centers for Medicare& Medicaid Services opened the application period for practices to participate in the new nation-wide primary care model, Comprehensive Primary Care Plus. CPC+ is a five-year primary care medical home model beginning January 2017 that will enable primary care practices to care for their patients the way they think will deliver the best outcomes and to pay them for achieving results and improving care. (Source: News stories via the Rural Assistance Center)
Source: News stories via the Rural Assistance Center - August 2, 2016 Category: Rural Health Source Type: news

Three Minnesota organizations receive funding to improve diabetes care
( < i > Medica Research Institute < /i > ) The three Minnesota organizations will evaluate how the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model -- known in Minnesota as the Health Care Home (HCH) model -- provide care for patients with diabetes. PCMHs have become widely regarded as the preferred model for delivering care nationwide. In Minnesota, more than two thirds of primary care practices have earned HCH certification in the years since the state passed legislation creating the process in 2008. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - July 25, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Tracking patients between visits: A new care model
As the health care system transitions to value-based care, new models of care will be a critical part of the new Medicare payment system. Learn how one physician is using a new model of care to track patients in between face-to-face visits in his practice. What patients and submarines have in common Imagine your patients, as you probably do every day, out in the world living their lives. You may wonder if their treatment is working, their medication is causing any side effects, their blood pressure is rising or any number of possibilities that could be percolating unknown—but you can’t find out until they come in f...
Source: AMA Wire - July 19, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Troy Parks Source Type: news