TransforMED finally got something right - For Practices Large and Small

[Guest guest]

Per recent discussion --> TransforMed trying to go after the smaller groups.

 

" TransforMED has worked with more than 500 primary care practices nationwide in their efforts to adopt the TransforMED PCMH model of care,” said Terry McGeeney, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of TransforMED. “Our experience has shown that small, independent practices with fewer decision makers are more nimble and actually have an easier time transforming to medical homes than larger practices in integrated systems. "

 

See below.

 

Locke, MD

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 Nice pdf of what a patient centered home looks like and what many are already doing in their practice.

 

http://www.transformed.com/pdf/TransforMEDMedicalHomeModel-letter.pdf

 

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http://www.transformed.com/

 

For Practices Large and Small, Here's Good News About the Patient-Centered Medical Home

by Terry McGeeney, MD, MBATransforMED President & CEO

" TransforMED has worked with more than 500 primary care practices nationwide in their efforts to adopt the TransforMED PCMH model of care,” said Terry McGeeney, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of TransforMED. “Our experience has shown that small, independent practices with fewer decision makers are more nimble and actually have an easier time transforming to medical homes than larger practices in integrated systems. "

Read the Guest Opinion at AAFP News Now »

Read the ANN News article TransforMED Rolls Out New Product to Support Solo, Small Practices »

NEW! The Small Practice Package

Small and solo practices can achieve measurable results by transforming into PCMHs. We have seen that small practices in our programs can expect...Find out more »

Improvements in overall quality of care, especially chronic diseases Improvements in access resulting in reductions in ER visits, inpatient visits and hospitalizations Improvements in patient satisfaction and perceived quality of care Improvements to the practice work environment

Read the Small Practice Package press release »

Interested in the Small Practice Package?

 

 

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http://www.transformed.com/small-practice-pkg.cfm

 

TransforMED's Small Practice Package

Get started now!

Click here to email Dan McKean or call

TransforMED has noticed that small and solo practices can achieve measurable results by transforming into PCMHs. Like the big guys, small practices in our programs are...

Improving the quality of chronic disease care

Reducing ER visits and hospital admissions

Cutting the total cost of care for patients in their pilot populations

To help improve the " health " of small practices, TransforMED has launched a program designed for small practices with one to four providers. This package bundles together the components small practices need to become PCMHs.

Components of the Small Practice Package Include:

PCMH Assessment (identify expectations, define processes and understand objectives)

Gap Analysis (Identify current state and PCMH opportunities)

Comprehensive Transformation Plan (Prioritize roadmaps and timelines)

Dedicated Facilitator

Unlimited Access to Delta-Exchange (Online learning community for primary care)

Enrollment in the TransforMED InstituteSM

Access to TransforMED Web Site Resources (Whitepapers, MHIQ, Newsletter, Leadership Videos and Success Stories)

Click here to send our contact form or telephone Dan McKean at .

A briefing paper from the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) summarizes key findings from several PCMH projects

PCMH pilots saw major gains in quality, such as patient adoption of healthy behaviors, significant improvements in quality of preventive care for chronic diseases, decreased duplication of services and tests, and in one pilot – a notable reduction in mortality.

Access was also improved, from reduction in appointment waiting time to increases in well-child visits. Better access also allowed patients to see their own doctors rather than visit emergency rooms, resulting in reductions in ER and inpatient visits – and costs.

Where patient perceptions were measured, improvements were seen in patient satisfaction, patient involvement and perceived quality of care.

Some participants saw improvements to the practice work environment, reporting less staff burnout as well as improvement in recruitment and retention of primary care physicians.

Significant reductions in overall costs were documented in several pilots.

Click here to read the PCPCC's PDF entitled The Outcomes of Implementing Patient-Centered Medical Home Interventions: A Review of the Evidence on Quality, Access and Costs from Recent Prospective Evaluation Studies, August 2009 – Prepared by Grumbach, MD, Bodenheimer, MD MPH and Grundy MD, MPH

Related content at AAFP NEWS NOW:Study Results Confirm PCMH Success in Improving Quality, Reducing Costs

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http://www.transformed.com/news-eventsdetailpage.cfm?listingID=83

 

TransforMED Launches New Service Offering to Accelerate Medical Home Adoption in Small Practices

05/24/2010

Company offers affordable expert facilitation, project management support and peer-to-peer learning opportunities to aid in transformation processLEAWOOD, Kan. – TransforMED, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians, today announced a new service offering aimed at helping small primary care practices implement the TransforMED patient-centered medical home model of care. TransforMED's " Small Practice Package " program bundles together the necessary tools and components, and streamlines the process to enable practices with four or fewer physicians to implement the components of the TransforMED PCMH model in two years.

For $1,250 per practice per quarter, practices can engage with TransforMED's expert facilitators in a two-year PCMH implementation support program. Using " virtual engagement " via Web-based assessments, the Delta-Exchange online learning community for primary care, video conferencing and teleconferencing, TransforMED will assess each practice's current state, determine the necessary changes to become a PCMH and then provide them with a comprehensive transformation plan and time line. Each practice will also be assigned a designated facilitator to provide virtual support throughout the entire transformation process. Practices begin their transformation by first completing an online assessment in which baseline practice metrics are established and change readiness is assessed for both leadership and staff.

TransforMED also offers an onsite option for $2,500 per practice per quarter in which practices receive an onsite assessment to verify and expand upon findings obtained through the virtual assessment. Practices also will benefit from onsite collaboration around the development and creation of the practice PCMH transformation plan with a follow-up visit in year two.

Regardless of which option a practice selects, TransforMED will provide ongoing support via teleconference, Delta-Exchange, periodically scheduled PCMH webinars, video conferencing and through peer to peer collaboration through the newly created  TransforMED Institute. Each practice will go through the two-year program with a cohort of other practices, enabling them to learn from one another, as well as from their facilitators. Practices are required to enroll in the program for two consecutive years.

Each practice will also receive three individual memberships to Delta-Exchange, TransforMED's online learning community. The online social networking site was created to address the proven need for practices to communicate, collaborate, and learn from other practices as they seek to overcome the challenges of implementing new technologies and workflows that are critical to PCMH transformation. Delta-Exchange addresses these needs in an online, social networking platform and serves as a robust repository of tools and resources on practice transformation topics.

Additionally, practices will receive free admission for up to three participants to attend two collaborative meetings hosted each year by the TransforMED Institute. The Institute will feature educational forums where doctors and their teams come together with their peers and TransforMED facilitators to learn about PCMH concepts and how to successfully implement them within their practice. Attendees also will take part in experiential sessions in which improvement teams develop plans, share ideas and hone their facilitation skills.

The inaugural TransforMED Institute will take place in 2010. The Institute will devote a full day to the cohort of practices enrolled in the " Small Practice Package " program. Topics covered will include how to achieve NCQA medical home recognition, improve patient engagement and satisfaction, and how to restructure physician compensation plans for the PCMH, to name a few.

" TransforMED has worked with more than 500 primary care practices nationwide in their efforts to adopt the TransforMED PCMH model of care, " said Terry McGeeney, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of TransforMED. " Our experience has shown that small, independent practices with fewer decision makers are more nimble and actually have an easier time transforming to medical homes than larger practices in integrated systems. "

According to McGeeney, there is no time like the present for small practices to begin realizing the benefits of medical home transformation. The TransforMED PCMH model is uniquely designed to help practices of all sizes achieve improved clinical outcomes and cost savings through a team-based approach to care. It also has resulted in improved job satisfaction for physicians and their staff. Because of ongoing positive findings from numerous medical home pilots, McGeeney predicts that the PCMH is the coming reality in the reformed health care system.

" Primary care physicians in medical homes will be paid for work they currently are not paid to do, " McGeeney said. " They will be paid for managing populations of patients, coordinating their care and effecting positive health outcomes. " He added, " The practice of primary care medicine will once again be fun and rewarding for them. "

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http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/opinion/20100510transformedgstop.html

Guest Opinion

For Practices Large and Small, Here's Good News About the Patient-Centered Medical Home

By Terry McGeeney, M.D., M.B.A. 5/10/2010

Even with the growing popularity of the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, model of care, some family physicians still think the rewards of transforming their practices into PCMHs are not worth the cost and effort. But if you are one of those FPs, I encourage you to think again. Recent PCMH developments, including a new TransforMED program designed to help small physician practices transform, may inspire you to change your mind.

Terry McGeeney, M.D., M.B.A., CEO and president of TransforMED

TransforMED, which is an independent subsidiary of the AAFP, has been working hard to develop the PCMH as a viable model of care for family physicians and to provide resources to help practices transform to the model. We've been involved in many PCMH pilots across the country, working with insurers, large medical groups, integrated hospital systems, federally qualified health centers and, most recently, a Medicaid program.

As CEO of TransforMED since its inception a few years ago, I've had my fingers on the pulse of the PCMH movement. Today, I'm more optimistic than ever about the potential of that movement and about the ability of family medicine practices, including small practices, to become successful medical homes. Here's why.

Impressive Results

Although the Medicare medical home demonstrations and some other PCMH projects have only recently gotten off the ground, several other groups experimenting with the PCMH model have begun to report impressive results. A briefing paper (6-page PDF; About PDFs) from the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative summarizes key findings from several of these projects, many of which were conducted in large, integrated-delivery systems.

The briefing paper's bottom line is, " Evaluation findings consistently indicate that investments to redesign the delivery of care around a primary care PCMH yield an excellent return on investment. " Quality of care, patient experiences, care coordination and access are demonstrably better, the paper says, and emergency room visits and hospitalizations are reduced. Cost savings, " at a minimum, offset the new investments in primary care in a cost-neutral manner, and in many cases, appear to produce a reduction in total costs per patient. "

In addition, significant increases in physician compensation have occurred in some pilots because doctors are getting paid for things they previously weren't paid to do. All of this is huge for family medicine.

Incorporating Small Practices

Many of the pilot programs achieving measurable results are large practices, but TransforMED has found that small and solo independent practices can reap similar benefits by transforming into PCMHs. Like the big guys, small practices in our pilot programs are improving the quality of chronic disease care, reducing ER visits and hospital admissions, and cutting the total cost of care for patients in their pilot populations.

In addition, our experience has shown that small, independent practices are nimbler and have an easier time changing into PCMHs, compared with larger practices in integrated systems. Small practices have fewer decision-makers who have to agree to change, and they don't have to get buy-in from someone else up the chain. We've found that when a practice has more than six physicians or is owned by an entity, such as a hospital, change becomes more difficult.

New Help for Small Practices

To help small practices transform, TransforMED recently launched a program designed for practices with one to four providers. TransforMED's Small Practice Package program bundles together the components small practices need to become PCMHs. The price for the program is $5,000 a year for two years. So far, response has been strong: Every small practice that has been offered the new program has signed up for it.

Using " virtual engagement " via the Internet and phone, the program assesses a practice's current state and the changes that must occur in order for it to become a PCMH. Next, TransforMED prepares a comprehensive transformation plan for the practice. A dedicated facilitator then works virtually with the practice as it transforms.

Each practice goes through the two-year program with a cohort of other practices, enabling the practices to learn from one another, as well as from their facilitators. Unlimited access to Delta Exchange, TransforMED's online primary care learning community, is included, as is free attendance each year at another new offering -- the TransforMED Institute.

TransforMED Institute

This new offering is designed to accelerate PCMH adoption. The first institute will be held this fall. The morning of day one will be devoted to the cohort of practices in the PCMH Transformation program. Representatives from the practices will meet as a peer-to-peer, interactive learning community, share insights about issues they've faced, and learn from one another and from PCMH experts.

That afternoon and the next day, the institute will broaden to include attendees from hospitals and health care systems -- anyone who wants to be immersed in learning about the PCMH. Sessions will cover such topics as how to get PCMH recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and how to restructure physician compensation plans for the PCMH.

The Academy's Vision -- and Yours

It's clear that the AAFP showed tremendous foresight and leadership when it committed its own resources to defining this new model of care and helping practices move to the new model. The AAFP also has hit a home run with its advocacy effort for health care reform. No one could have scripted a better outcome for family medicine.

If you've had a " wait and see " attitude about the PCMH or felt you were too busy to change your practice or couldn't afford to, it's time to realize that the medical home movement isn't just the latest and greatest discussion by the feds and the insurance companies. I predict that the PCMH is the coming reality in the reformed health care system because the PCMH has compelling evidence behind it. Primary care physicians will be paid for work that's based on the medical home concept. They'll be paid for managing populations of patients, not just waiting until patients show up in the office. Doctors who move to the new model of care will find both their incomes and their job satisfaction improving. Medicine will once again become fun for them.

Transforming your practice into a PCMH is hard work, but we now know it can produce big benefits for you, your practice and your patients. With the resources available from the AAFP and TransforMED, now is a good time for you to make the change.

Terry McGeeney, M.D., M.B.A., is the CEO and president of TransforMED, which is an independent subsidiary of the AAFP. TransforMED was created to help physician practices redesign their systems and processes to implement the patient-centered medical home model of care.

 

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TransforMEDMedicalHomeModel-letter.pdf