PCMH stands for “patient-centered medical home.” It is a new concept that is actually an old concept: the idea that people each have a place where they receive person-centered care, a place that is like a “home” or home-base, if you will, where the person and his or her provider work as a team to set goals, and acheive those goals.
Except I missed an important piece in my definition above: nursing.
Allow me to explain: I got a new job yesterday. Actually, I was chosen for a new role in my current job- with a hugely different focus than what healthcare has become in this country: people. Individuals. Families. Wellness.
Not medication, not technology: not that those things are bad. They are useful tools. But we have other tools: ideas. Partnerships. Caring. Empathy.
Everything that has happened to me in my life has prepared me for this and I am ready to rock.
I work in Family Medicine. Our specialty is not to specialize. I believe in Family Medicine, and have always chosen Family Medicine physicians as my primary healthcare providers. President Obama believes in Family Medicine too- he has just appointed a new surgeon general, Regina Benjamin, who is a primary care doctor. Per the article- worth reading- “The administration pushes to reorient the health-care system toward prevention and primary care.” Dr. Benjamin stated, when President Barack Obama introduced her Monday at the White House Rose Garden, “My hope, if confirmed as surgeon general, is to be America’s doctor, America’s family physician.” Vindication!
So, to anyone who may be reading this, I do apologize: the blog formatting needs work, and this first post is rather desultory. I just wanted to celebrate by starting a new blog.
If you would like to know more, here is some further reading to get you started.
Tags: Family Medicine, nurse, Nursing, Patient-Centered Medical Home, PCMH
