How Do I Judge the “Medical Homeness” of My Practice?

Abstract

A Medical Home provides care to infants, children, and adolescents that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective. These desirable characteristics are often difficult to assess in a practice. A recent policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics provides clarification and functional definitions of these characteristics. Tools and resources are available to aid physicians, clinic administrators and client-families in assessing their clinic’s compliance with Medical Home characteristics, as part of a long-term quality improvement program for their practice.