Home

WHAT IS MHI

The PA Medical Home Initiative was founded when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created a series of goals designed to "bring better health to all people in this country." The initiative was called Healthy People 2010. Several of the Healthy People 2010 goals were focused on specifically improving care for CSHCN (Children with Special Health Care Needs) and YSHCN (Youth with Special Health Care Needs): - Children will be screened early and continuously for special health care needs. - Families of CSHCN will participate in decision-making at all levels and will be satisfied with the services they receive. - CSHCN will receive regular ongoing comprehensive care within a medical home. - Families of CSHCN will have adequate public and/or private insurance to pay for the services they need. - Community-based service systems will be organized so families can use them easily. - Youth with Special Health Care Needs (YSHCN) will receive the services necessary to make transitions to all aspects of adult life. Recognizing that the Healthy People 2010 goals could only be met by working together at federal, state, and local levels, the Maternal Child and Health Bureau (MCHB) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) provided funding to create the PA Medical Home Initiative (PA MHI). PA MHI is one of several programs under the management of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a nonprofit organization of board-certified pediatricians specializing in pediatric education and advocacy.

Patients & Families

A Medical Home fosters partnerships with patients and their families in a trusting, compassionate and respectful manner. Family and patient involvement and feedback is critical to the implementation and growth of any medical home.

Medical Practices

The chapter’s Medical Home Initiative works hand-in-hand with practices across the commonwealth to train their staff on the principles of care coordination. By offering in-person technical assistance to practices, the MHI practice coordinators are able to help practices implement care coordination. In addition to the in-office training, there are also webinars, regional learning collaboratives, and state-wide CME conferences to enhance the efforts of the practice. Practices are also eligible to apply for a care coordination mini-grant, which will help them fund their efforts.

Transition From Pediatric to Adult Medical Care

The Pennsylvania Medical Home Initiative (PA MHI) efforts around transition is a natural extension of the larger program funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since 2010, PA MHI has focused on helping pediatric and adult primary care providers develop and implement processes and tools in their practices to make it easier for Youth with Special Health Care Needs (YSHCN) and their families make the leap from pediatric primary care to adult-based primary care.

- GET STARTED TODAY -

ethompson@paaap.org

This website is a publication of PA AAP and is intended to be a forum for information and communication among the PA AAP membership, individuals and groups interested in the health and well-being of children. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the electronic documents and resources provided on this website. However,the PA AAP makes no warranties, expressed or implied, regarding errors or omissions and assumes no legal liability or responsibility for loss or damage resulting from the use of information contained within.