The Medical Home
History
The "story" of the medical home extends from the 1935 Social Security Legislation Act which called for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Title V Programs to "locate, diagnose, and treat crippled children" to today's emphasis on providing planned primary health care in the context of the families and communities in which patients live. Community–based care in a medical home is increasingly accepted as one of the means of achieving optimal outcomes for children, youth, adults, and their families. The term "medical home" was coined in 1967 by the Council on Pediatric Practice, a subgroup of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and has been described with a variety of applications and definitions since then.
No Debating History
There is no debating history - the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) pioneered the concept of the medical home in the 1960s, initially referring to a central location for archiving the child’s medical record. In its 2002 policy statement and reaffirmed in 2008, the AAP expanded the medical home concept to include these operational characteristics: accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally sensitive care. As such, a medical home addresses and integrates high quality health promotion and chronic condition management in a planned, coordinated and family-centered manner.
Today
The medical home model has captured the attention of a much broader health community. A key motivating force is the federal government's growing interest in the medical home model as an option to redesign the health care delivery system for the elderly and those individuals with multiple chronic conditions. There are adult medical home demonstrations planned (www.pcpcc.net) and the AAP is working toward support for pediatric demonstration efforts in the primary care medical home intended for all children/adolescents and their families.
