The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a health care model which provides continuous and comprehensive care to patients at a lower cost. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, this model focuses on key principles which include: “giving patients access to a personal physician, comprehensive care, health care and services, continuous improvement on patient’s outcome, and enhanced access to care” [1]. A major asset to this model is that it promises each patient a personalized plan while …show more content…
In 2012, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement proposed the Regional HealthCare Partnership (RHP) in the Rio Grande Valley. Currently, the population in South Texas is characterized with a high rate of poverty and adults without a high school education. [2]. Studies have demonstrated the correlation between socioeconomic status and health, and the Rio Grande Valley attests for this data. In addition, there is a high communication barrier that many times keep patients from seeking medical care, not comprehend or recognize their diagnosis, and most importantly, they are unable to maintain their treatment plan because they find difficulty understanding.
In 2011, the RPH focused on patient-centered care and had residents participate in focus groups to assess the community’s health care needs. Data showed that patients needed a health care system that would not only treat them, but help them understand their health conditions; in essence the patients were seeking patient-centered