Patients and Family Engagement Central Focus of Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative Two-day Stakeholder Conference

April 23-24, 2012, event will convene health care leadership in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In primary care practices across the nation, the patient-centered medical home continues to transform health care delivery, based on the evidence of better care for patients and lower total health care costs.  But emphasizing the needs and goals of the patient and family caregivers is paramount.  The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) will convene April 23-24, 2012 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC to re-emphasize the role of the patient at the center of the medical home during its annual Stakeholder Conference.

The PCPCC is a coalition of more than 1,000 organizations representing the nation's business leaders, consumers, clinicians and other health care stakeholders with the shared goal of advancing adoption of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). The medical home is the centerpiece of new care delivery models designed to lower costs while improving the health of individuals and of populations. The Stakeholder Conference theme, Patients and Families at the Center of the Medical Home: Better engagement, better care, better outcomes in the PCMH, points to the primacy of the patient at the center of the medical home concept. The first session of the two-day conference will focus on patient partnerships and feature the voices of patients and consumer leadership. Day 1 will also feature a keynote presentation by Jeff Brenner, executive director, Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, who will talk about his partnerships with patients to improve the health of those in his community. Dr. Brenner's innovative approach to health care delivery was recently highlighted by Atul Gawande, MD in a New Yorker article entitled "Hotspotters."

Both the theme of the meeting and the emphasis on outcomes research dovetail with the goals of the PCPCC's new executive director, Marcia Nielsen, Ph.D., M.P.H.: First, help focus the mission of the PCMH on the patient/consumer/family; and second, continuously incorporate research and best practices on effective implementation.

"A criticism sometimes leveled at the patient-centered medical home, whether perceived or real, is that the patient is too often missing from the center of the policy discussions, and within the health care delivery system itself," Nielsen said. "But patient engagement is a centerpiece of the medical home. Our Center for Consumer Engagement has helped the PCPCC keep the patient perspective front and center, and we are delighted that at this Stakeholder Conference we will not only feature the patient perspective, but truly put the patient and family caregivers in the spotlight."

For the first time, and at the request of attendees, the PCPCC has expanded the Stakeholder Conference to a two-day event.

Panelist presentations will explore outcomes of PCMH research, case studies from the field about transformation to a medical home model, a session with purchasers and payers discussing how they are supporting access to PCMHs, and the connection between PCMHs and emerging accountable care models.

For more information and to register, go to www.pcpcc.net/event/stakeholder2012/invitation.

About the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative

The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative is a coalition of more than 1,000 major employers, consumer groups, organizations representing primary care physicians, and other stakeholders who have joined to advance the patient-centered medical home. The Collaborative believes that, if implemented, the patient-centered medical home will improve the health of patients and the health care delivery system. For more information on the patient-centered medical home and a complete list of the PCPCC members, please visit www.pcpcc.net.

SOURCE Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative