The Commonwealth Fund is gearing up to turn 50 safety net clinics into models of the patient-centered medical home.
The demonstration project, called the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative, will run for 5 years with the goal of creating an implementation plan that can be replicated at practices and clinics across the country.
The Commonwealth Fund is funding the project, which will be run by the Seattle-based quality improvement organization Qualis Health, along with the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation. In the first year of the project, the Commonwealth Fund is providing nearly $700,000; total 5-year funding for expected to reach $6.7 million.
Qualis Health and the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation will offer technical assistance to participating clinics on aspects of the patient-centered medical home including timely access to primary care services, enhanced communication, and team-based care.
The Commonwealth Fund and its partners currently are seeking applications for four regional coordinating centers.
The staff at these four centers would provide assistance to 12–15 local safety net clinics as well as promote the concept of the patient-centered medical home with state Medicaid officials.
Eligible entities include community clinic consortia, state primary care associations, regional health care alliances, community hospitals with outpatient services, public health departments, state Medicaid agencies, and Medicaid managed care plans, among others.
Applications, due by Nov. 3, can be downloaded at http://qhmedicalhome.org/safety-net/index.cfm