Am Fam Physician. 2015;91(7):440
Author disclosure: No relevant financial affiliations.
Despite efforts to achieve broad transformation of primary care practices into patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), certification rates have lagged in small and solo practices. The challenges these groups face with the transformation and certification processes should be addressed to continue national momentum toward reshaping the nation's primary care platform.
Since 2007, efforts to transform the nation's largest platform of health delivery, primary care practices, into PCMHs have included substantial investment by stakeholders, payers, and practices, and have resulted in multiple PCMH certification processes. Some have noted, however, that small practices are more challenged by benchmarks of PCMH certification, including integrating new technology; reenvisioning the physician's role; and adjusting the practice culture, structure, and cost.1,2
Family physicians recertifying with the American Board of Family Medicine in 2013 were asked if their practice was a PCMH or if they were considering applying for certification.3 Substantially fewer physicians in solo practices (6.7%) and small practices (18.9%) reported PCMH certification relative to those in large practices (35.1%). One-third of physicians in solo or smaller practices reported that their practices were considering applying for certification.3
Transformation of the primary care delivery platform will be incomplete without the participation of small and solo practices. With evolving requirements, the transformation and the certification processes may require costs and time beyond the current capacity of some small practices. When setting PCMH certification benchmarks, stakeholders should consider the needs of small practices, which may require additional financial incentives, resources, and staff training to facilitate the PCMH transformation.4
The information and opinions contained in research from the Graham Center do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the AAFP.
This series is coordinated by Sumi Sexton, MD, Associate Medical Editor.
A collection of Graham Center Policy One-Pagers published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/graham.
Policy One-Pagers are available from the Graham Center at https://www.graham-center.org.
