Patients, Families, & Caregivers

An Overview of the Patient-Centered Medical Home for Rural Patients, Caregivers, and Healthcare Stakeholders

Patients, Families & Caregivers play a critical role in transforming our nation’s healthcare. A patient has a voice for letting the practice understand not only your health care needs but other challenges you may have, such as transportation, access to food or work hours. When the clinical practice understands these personal factors, they may be able to change their processes to better support your needs and the needs of other patients.

Top Five

Ways to Get Involved in Improving Clinical Practice

  1. Ask your healthcare provider if there is a way for you to be involved in improving care. For example, ask if they have a patient-family advisory council.
  2. Come to the doctor’s appointment prepared. Bring a notepad with questions, your medication list and any other pertinent personal healthcare information.
  3. Tell your care provider what your health goals are.
  4. Ask that a Care Partner of family member be present and engaged for all conversations about your health.
  5. Let your care team know how you like to receive information.

“The care of a disease may be entirely impersonal; the care of the patient must be completely personal. The clinical picture is not just a photograph of a person in bed; it is an impressionistic painting of the person surrounded by his home, his work, his relations, his friends, his joys, his sorrows, hopes and fears.”

- Francis Peabody, Care of the Patient, JAMA, 1927

Resources by Topic

Improve your Health Literacy

Quality Payment Program

CMS | October 2019

Health Literacy Toolshed - A Database of Health Literacy Measures

University of Boston, U.S. National Library of Medicine, CommunicateHealth, Inc. | October 2019

Choosing Wisely Handouts and Materials for Patient Education

Choosing Wisely, ABIM Foundation | October 2019

Shared-Decision Making with Providers

Ask Me 3: Good Questions for Your Good Health

Institute for Healthcare Improvement | October 2019

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care?

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care? | September 2019

Guide to Implementing the Choosing Wisely Program at Your Practice

Choosing Wisely, IPFCC, PCPCC | October 2018

Peer Support

Peers for Progress Network

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | October 2019

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care?

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care? | September 2019

Supporting the Health Care Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood in the Medical Home

American Academy of Pediatrics | October 2018

Join Research Teams

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care?

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care? | September 2019

Supporting the Health Care Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood in the Medical Home

American Academy of Pediatrics | October 2018

New toolkit to Prepare Patient Stakeholders to Work with Research Teams

Health Innovation Program, University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Network for Research Support | September 2018

Join a Patient & Family Advisory Board

YMCA Logo

YMCA Community Integrated Health

YMCA of the USA | October 2019

Building Your Medical Home: An Introduction to Pediatric Primary Care Transformation

American Academy of Pediatrics | October 2019

National Resource Center for Patient/Family-Centered Medical Home

American Academy of Pediatrics | October 2019

Make the Most of Medical Visits

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care?

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care? | September 2019

Guide to Implementing the Choosing Wisely Program at Your Practice

Choosing Wisely, IPFCC, PCPCC | October 2018

Supporting the Health Care Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood in the Medical Home

American Academy of Pediatrics | October 2018

Managing Medications

Choosing Wisely Handouts and Materials for Patient Education

Choosing Wisely, ABIM Foundation | October 2019

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care?

Patient Portals: How can they impact primary care? | September 2019

Guide to Implementing the Choosing Wisely Program at Your Practice

Choosing Wisely, IPFCC, PCPCC | October 2018

Understanding the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Model

Mayo Clinic: Shared Decision Making National Resource Center

Mayo Clinic | March 2018

The BIG Picture: The Quadruple Aim of Healthcare Reform, Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative, and Why We Need Patient, Family, and Community Partners

IPFCC | October 2016
Family Voices

Best Practices for Developing Effective Pediatric/Parent Partnerships

New Jersey Pediatrics | May 2016

Explore All Transformation Resources

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