A Medical Home is all about you. Caring about you is the most important job of your Patient-Centered Medical Home. In this personal model of health care, your primary provider leads the team of health care professionals that collectively take responsibility for your care. They make sure you get the care you need in wellness and illness to heal your body, mind and spirit.

Your personal provider and an extended team of health professionals build a relationship in which they know you, your family situation, your medical history and health issues. In turn, you come to trust and rely on them for expert, evidence-based health care answers that are suited entirely to your or to your family.

The Medical Home Advantage

There are many benefits to being in a Medical Home:

• Comprehensive care means your medical home helps you address any health issue at any given stage of your life.
• Coordination of care occurs when any combination of services you and your provider decide you need are connected and ordered in a rational way, including the use of resources in your community.
• Continuous care occurs over time and you can expect continuity in accurate, effective and timely communication from any member of your health care team.
• Accessible care allows you to initiate the interaction you need for any health issue with a physician or other team member through your desired method (office visit, phone call, or electronically) and you can expect elimination of barriers to the access of care and instructions on obtaining care during and after hours.
• Proactive care ensures you and your provider will build a care plan to address your health care goals to keep you well, plus be available for you when you get sick.

Who is your Medical Home Team?

Your team may include a doctor, nurse practitioner, licensed practical nurse, medical assistant or health educator, as well as other health professionals. These professionals work together to help you get healthy, stay healthy, and get the care and services that are right for you. When needed, your personal doctor arranges for appropriate care with qualified specialists.

We want to learn about you.

• We want to get to know you, your family, your life situation, and preferences, and suggest treatments that make sense for you.
• We want to treat you as a full partner in your care
• We want to communicate effectively with you
• We want to give you time to ask questions and we want to answer them in a way you understand
• We want to make sure you know and understand all of your options for care
• We want to help you decide what care is best for you. Sometimes more care is not better care. We want to ask you for feedback about your care experience.

We want to support you in caring for yourself.

• We want to make sure you develop a clear idea of how to care for yourself
• We want to help you set goals for your care and help you meet your goals one step at a time
• We want to enourage you to fully participate in recommended preventive screenings and services
• We want to give you information about classes, support groups, or other types of services to help you learn more about your condition and stay healthy

Actively participate in your care

You are the most important member of the medical home team.

• Understand that you are a full partner in your own health care.
• Learn about your condition and what you can do to stay as healthy as possible.
• As best you can, follow the care plan that you and your medical team have agreed is important for your health.
  Communicate with your Medical Home Team.

Communicate with your Medical Home Team

• Bring a list of questions to each appointment. Also, bring a list of any medicines, vitamins, or remedies you use.
• If you don't understand something your doctor or other member of your medical home team says, ask them to explain it in a different way.
• If you get care from other health professionals, always tell your medical home team so they can help coordinate for the best care possible.
• Talk openly with your care team about your experience in getting care from the medical home so they can keep making you care better.