CHIPRA quality demonstration States help school-based health centers strengthen their medical home features

This Evaluation Highlight is the eighth in a series that presents descriptive and analytic findings from the national evaluation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) Quality Demonstration Grant Program. The Highlight focuses on a joint CHIPRA quality demonstration project in Colorado and New Mexico in which the quality improvement goals include integrating the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) approach into school-based health centers (SBHCs). The Highlight describes what motivated the States and SBHCs to adopt the PCMH approach, actions they are taking to strengthen SBHCs’ medical home features, changes in the States’ health care policies that are relevant to SBHCs being recognized as PCMHs, and what other States can do if they are interested in supporting SBHCs in their efforts to become medical homes. 

Key Messages:

• Practice facilitators can support SBHCs’ adoption of quality improvement processes and their mastery of health information technology (IT), including electronic health records (EHRs), to enhance the provision of high quality, comprehensive care. 
• Although some SBHCs are the primary care provider for many students, others are not, which affects their ability to function as PCMHs. 
• SBHCs’ ability to provide patient- and family-centered care can be improved by engaging students, caregivers, and the larger community in discussions about the role of SBHCs and the services they offer. 
• Some SBHCs are overcoming challenges in providing year-round accessible, comprehensive care by collaborating with larger health care delivery systems and other providers.
• The financial advantages of PCMH recognition may change as broader State policies change.