Bringing Patients Into the Patient-Centered Medical Home

Abstract

There is consensus that patients need to be engaged with their care, but how to do this in a primary care setting remains unclear. This case study demonstrates Patient Advisory Council engagement with the operations of a patient-centered medical home.

The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is driving dramatic change in the organization of health care. While the end state is not clear, almost all observers agree that primary care should be a foundation for the new health care system [1]. If this is the case, how do we bring a robust patient voice into the primary care setting?

What follows is a brief description of our practice's experience with developing a Patient Advisory Council (PAC) and incorporating it into the governance of our practice. Our intent is to provide a case study from the perspective of the leadership of the practice (W.P.N., D.L.P., and M.G.) and from that of our PAC (H.A.).