In 2011, Florida received a grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to enhance medical homes for children, particularly those with special health care needs, who are enrolled in the Medicaid, Medicaid health plan or KidCare programs. Through the grant, a number of demonstration projects were carried out, including the Florida Pediatric Medical Home Demonstration Project, a quality improvement (QI) project conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics to coach practices through transformation to the medical home model of care and strengthen their ability to provide family-centered, high quality care. The University of Florida Institute for Child Health Policy conducted an overall project evaluation.
Through participation in the project, practices will work to:
Improve health outcomes for children
Apply best available evidence to integrate care across primary and specialty care settings
Strengthen their capacity to anticipate and plan for child, youth, and family needs
Use clinical information to track and manage patients in the practice
Emphasize and support the family's central role in care
Coordinate care with community resources
Click here to view a video on the Florida Pediatric Medical Home Demo Project.
This is a 5 year, grant-funded program. In a July 2015 report, AHRQ noted that the program did not offer explicit financial incentives for participation, which may hinder program expansion beyond the demonstration.
Other Outcomes:
Florida improved care processes by more effectively:
using their electronic health records (EHRs)
introducing same-day-appointment slots
and asking families to fill out pre-visit questionnaires
