Baptist Health Madisonville, in Madisonville, Ky., announced Thursday that it has begun work with TransforMED, a Patient-Centered Medical Home transformation program, to improve primary healthcare for its patients in western Kentucky.
According to a news release from Baptist Health Madison, TransforMED is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians that has worked with more than 1,500 medical practices nationwide to successfully implement the PCMH model of care. In its facilitator role, TransforMED will provide ongoing consultation and support to 18 resident physicians and four residency faculty at Baptist Health Madisonville.
Baptist Health Madisonville is the first residency program in the Louisville, Ky.-based Baptist Health system to undergo the transformation to a PCMH, according to the news release. As the pilot location, the Madisonville campus initiative has the potential to touch an estimated 10,500 area patients in the first year of its PCMH rollout.
The PCMH is built around patients, and engages them as active participants in their own health and well-being. In the PCMH model, patients are cared for by a personal physician who leads a medical team to coordinate all aspects of their preventive, acute and chronic health care needs using the best available evidence and appropriate technology. These ongoing relationships offer patients comfort, convenience and optimal health throughout their lifetimes, Baptist Health writes.
During the first phase of the PCMH transformation, TransforMED will conduct a series of assessments of the patient population and demographics at Baptist Health Madisonville. Understanding how well a practice meets the needs of its patients can help a practice transform more quickly and improve the patient experience, hospital officials say.
TransforMED practice enhancement facilitators then will work with Baptist Health leadership and staff to clarify and achieve practice transformation goals in the areas of change management, case management, teamwork, leadership, communication and more. A combination of virtual and on-site facilitation resources will be geared toward helping health care professionals manage and improve the health of patients in the Madisonville area.
"We are pleased to be working with TransforMED to make the PCMH a reality for patients in western Kentucky," said Bob Brooks, vice president for education and research at Baptist Health, in a statement. "Its professional resources will lead our practices to deliver a higher level of quality, achieve better health outcomes and get maximum value through functional improvement – all elements that define excellent care."
"The PCMH model of care has clearly emerged as the foundation for the reformed health system in America and as one way to improve population health, assure individual health and lower costs," said Bruce Bagley, interim president and CEO of TransforMED.
"Comprehensive primary care built around patients and delivered by teams is especially well-suited to rural areas that face a health profession shortage," Bagley says. "By transforming to a high-performing PCMH, Baptist Health Madisonville is setting up a lasting way of providing health care to area residents while continuing its long mission of educating medical professionals on its campus. We applaud its foresight and willingness to take the important next steps to bring high-quality, patient-centered primary care to the small-town and rural environment that makes up its 12-county service area."