Health Care Homes (aka Medical Homes)
A "health care home," also called a "medical home," is an approach to primary care in which primary care providers, families and patients work in partnership to improve health outcomes and quality of life for individuals with chronic health conditions and disabilities.
The development of health care homes in Minnesota is part of the ground-breaking health reform legislation passed in May 2008. The legislation includes payment to primary care providers for partnering with patients and families to provide coordination of care.
- Find a certified health care home.
- Health care providers may apply to become certified as a health care home.
What's new?
- Notice of Availability of Grant Request for Proposal (RFP) for Health Care Home Minnesota Transitions in Health Care Pilot Project
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) requests proposals from qualified respondents to develop Health Care Transitions pilot project.
This project will develop a model of successful health care transition to adult care for youth with special health care needs and their families by testing strategies, tools and materials supplied by the National HealthCare Transition Center. It will require engagement of youth with special health care needs and their families along with the experience of pediatric providers to test and implement health care transition tools, strategies, and a transition model that can be disseminated statewide and nationally.
MDH expects to award three grants for $5,000 each.
Responses to this solicitation are due not later than 4 p.m., Central Standard Time, January 17, 2012.
For more information, please contact Kathy Wick, supervisor, at 651-201-4064 or kathy.wick@state.mn.us or Cherylee Sherry, planner, at (651) 201-3769 or cherylee.sherry@state.mn.us
Complete solicitation (application document)(PDF: 135KB/3 pages)
- New Resource!
Regional Public Health Nurse Consultants for Health Care Homes (HCH) are now located throughout the state and available to provide guidance and technical assistance to clinics, clinic systems, and community-based health care delivery systems seeking capacity building to become certified Health Care Homes. Assistance can include consultation to identify strengths, help with conducting a gap analysis or providing resources and strategies for clinics to achieve certification. The consultants can provide training regarding HCH standards such as care coordination and patient and family centered care, or help clinics connect to community resources and partners, all in an effort to build systems of care through health care homes. Because they live in the areas they serve, they understand local strengths and challenges and are readily available to help identify resources and problem solve in partnership with clinics, providers, and consumers. Consult the map for the regional consultant serving your area (PDF: 76KB/1 page).
For clinics that are ready to apply for certification and require assistance, please contact the main Health Care Homes number at 651-201-5421 or email health.healthcarehomes@state.mn.us.
- MDH has awarded four new grants through the Health Care Homes program.
Three Community Care Team Grants have been awarded with the purpose of designing, documenting and implementing a community care team that addresses community priorities, care coordination, transitions management and effective use of resources, and engages in collaborative activities with certified health care homes. The community care team will work together to provide outcomes-oriented care guided by the principle of optimizing clinical outcomes for community members to meet the goals of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Triple Aim: improved health outcomes, enhanced patient experience and reduced costs/improved value.
Community Care Team Grant recipients are:
- Hennepin County Medical Center, which will focus efforts on their diverse ethnic and cultural populations.
- Essentia Health Care Ely Clinic, which will focus efforts around children, adolescents and adults with mental illness.
- Mayo Clinic, which will focus efforts on community dwelling older adults with multiple chronic conditions.
One Safety Net Grant was awarded to Halleland Habicht with the purpose of providing expert support and facilitation for safety net clinics (Federally Qualified Health Care Centers and designated safety net clinics) as they achieve the goal of primary care transformation to improve population health, patient experience and value. Safety net clinics are essential in caring for our state's underserved.
These grants will end in June 2012. Results of these grant activities will be shared in future communications and at future meetings and conferences.
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The Minnesota Department of Health has certified 43 new clinics and additional departments in two clinics that were already certified. There are now 134 certified health care homes in Minnesota.
List of new certified health care homes
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MDH and DHS have provided the Legislature with a December 2010 report on the implementation of health care homes. The report is available online at Health Care Homes - Legislative Reports.
- MDH is pleased to announce that Minnesota has been selected as one of eight states to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Practice demonstration. Minnesota's participation in this demonstration is a big step towards achieving critical mass in the state's goal of transforming primary care through health care homes.
CMS news release
- The HealthPartners Research Foundation has received a US Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant to study the transformation of traditional primary care clinics in Minnesota to “health care homes,” also known as “medical homes.”
Leif Solberg, MD, senior investigator and director for care improvement research at the HealthPartners Research Foundation, received the $596,000 grant to conduct a two-year study, “Evaluating Statewide Transformation of Primary Care to Medical Homes.”
The Minnesota Departments of Health and Human Services will work with Solberg. With Minnesota Community Measurement and other partners, they will test whether clinics that have transformed their practice by implementing a health care home also see better quality of care of patients with diabetes or heart disease. They will then interview and survey successful clinics to identify key changes most important for transformation.
The study will also compare more and less transformed clinics in health care costs and utilization and patient and clinician/staff satisfaction.
- To register for upcoming conference calls and webinars about certification and other health care home topics, please see Health Care Homes - Events.
- The certification assessment tool is now available for download. Potential applicants are encouraged to use this as an internal clinic tool to determine which clinicians are ready to apply for certification as a health care home. When clinicians are implementing all the standards listed in this tool, they are ready to apply for certification.
Please see Health Care Homes - Certification to download the tool.
Questions? Contact us.
Phone - 651-201-5421
E-mail - health.healthcarehomes@state.mn.us