The Maine Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Pilot is an effort to bring better primary care services to Maine.  The Maine PCMH Pilot is outlined by its mission, vision, and guiding principles  that build off of national principles for the medical home model, such as the AAP-AAFP-ACP-AOA Joint Principles, and also reflect the needs of Maine people and providers.  The Maine PCMH Pilot currently includes 26 primary care practices working together over a 3-year period, including 22 adult and 4 pediatric practices from communities across the state (see Maine PCMH Pilot Practice Map  to see locations of participating practices).

Participating practices commit to achieving national recognition standards for medical home using NCQA PPC-PCMH recognition, and work to meet a set of 10 "Core Expectations " to continue their efforts to move towards a more patient-centered model of care.  A list of the practtices participating in Maine PCMH Pilot practices that have achieved NCQA recognition can be see at Maine NCQA PPC-PCMH.

The Maine PCMH Pilot is led by  the Dirigo Health Agency’s Maine Quality Forum, Quality Counts, and the Maine Health Management Coalition.  It is governed by the PCMH Working Group that includes consumers, providers, payers, employers, and public health advocates from around the state.  Other key stakeholder supporting the Maine PCMH Pilot include the Maine Medical Association, Maine Osteopathic Association, and Maine Chapters of the AAP, AAFP, and ACP.

Funding for Pilot is supported primarily by the Maine Quality Forum and the Maine Health Access Foundation, with additional support from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Quality Counts, the Maine Health Management Coalition, Martins Point Health Care, and Anthem BCBS.

Defining the Patient Centered Medical Home

The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a new model for delivering primary care  services to consumers.   Doctors’ offices that use the PCMH model provide comprehensive and coordinated care that puts the patient at the center.  PCMH offers an exciting way for changing healthcare by supporting both the changes that need to happen at the doctors’ office and the changes that need to happen with the payment system.  These combined changes to the delivery and payment systems will create dramatic and lasting improvements in primary care.

A “medical home” is not a physical building.  The American Academy of Pediatrics describes the medical home as “a model of deliverying primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective.”

For more information on the medical home model, see…

• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
• TransforMED
• American College of Physicians (ACP)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• Center for Medical Home Improvement (CMHI)
• Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC)

Additional information about the Maine Pilot is available in our Resource Library.

The PCMH model can not only improve the healthcare experience of patients and families, but also can lower healthcare costs. There is evidence from around the world to suggest that regions that have strong primary care-based services have better quality outcomes and lower costs than regions with less primary care. Improving access to high quality primary care services will help reduce avoidable emergency department visits, hospital readmissions, and unnecessary diagnostic testing.  The PCMH can also help encourage evidence-based, desirable practices such as generic drug use and medication adherence.

How the PCMH Model Differs from “Managed Care”

The PCMH model is not managed care all over again.  One of the reasons managed care failed was because the public thought that providers were being asked to focus on managing costs instead of on improving care. The PCMH model is squarely focused on the latter--improving the relationship between doctors and patients.  It is designed to provide more patient centered care and create a system that better coordinates and integrates care over time and across care settings.

While there will be some likely  cost savings with the PMCH model, the savings will be a result of providing better care for patients, not from withholding needed care.  Primary care practices will be asked to serve as patient advocates and guides through the healthcare system, not “gatekeepers”.

The Role of the Patient in the PCMH Model

As the name suggests, the Patient Centered Medical Home model puts the patient in the center of care.  Patients will receive care from a team of quality medical professionals, with the patient playing the most important role on the team.  One of the keys to success of the PCMH model will be for patients and families to understand the value of working as partners with their primary care team.  Being a partner in your care can mean many things, including:

• Showing up on time for appointments
• Bringing important information, such as medications and insurance, to every visit.
• Creating an action plan with your care team that will help you make important life style changes.
• Telling your care team when you get care somewhere else and give permission for your information to be shared.
• Asking questions about your treatment or care plan until you are sure you fully understand
• Following your care plan
• Tracking progress on your care plan

Useful Tools:  Intro Video on Patient Centered Medical Home
The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC), a coalition of more than 400 organizations who have joined together to develop and advance the patient centered medical home, and Emmi Solutions, producer of interactive health education programs, have created a useful, short multimedia program to help patients understand the patient centered medical home. This web-based educational program, entitled "Introduction to the Patient Centered Medical Home", runs 4.5mins in length, and can be a useful tool to share with your patients.  It can be viewed at the following link: PCMH EMMI Intro Video.

For more information on how patients can benefit from the Patient Centered Medical Home model, see the "Consumer Engagement" section of our QC website Resource Library.

The Maine Coalition for the Advancement of Primary Care

The Maine Coalition for the Advancement of Primary Care (CAPC) is a 60+ member multistakeholder coalition of patients, physical and behavioral health providers, employers, all of the private health plans, MaineCare, and public health that has been meeting since July 2008 to promote a stronger primary care system in Maine. The Coalition initially came together to provide leadership and guidance for the PCMH Pilot, but broadened its mission to provide leadership to several other initiatives in the state also aimed at supporting primary care. The Coalition is open to all interested parties, and meets for 2 hours every other month in the central Maine area. Anyone interested in joining the Coalition should contact Lisa Letourneau MD at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Medical Home Joint Principles from AAP-AAFP-ACP-AOA

In 2007, the AAP-AAFP-ACP-AOA in 2007 adopted a set of “Joint Principles” that describe key attributes of a medical home including:

(1) relationship with a personal physician;

(2) use of team-based care;

(3) whole-person orientation;

(4) coordination and integration of care across all settings;

(5) quality and safety as hallmarks;

(6) enhanced access to care; and

(7) payment that appropriately recognizes the added value to patients of a patient centered medical home.