
Parent Partnership:
The cornerstone of the medical home
Seeking input from families who have a child with special
health care needs provides valuable first-hand experiences that primary
care physicians would otherwise not realize. Practice staff can learn
alot from families when they engage them in discussing the day-to-day
issues, barriers and challenges they face in caring for and meeting the
many needs of their child and family.
Physicians need to reach out and actively encourage parents
to become “parent partners” with the practice. This can be
done as part of an organized Quality Improvement Team (QIT) or through
family surveys, focus groups or simply through everyday communication
with families. Impromptu communication is a good tool, but planned communication
efforts are more consistent and meaningful over time.
Practices often recognize the value but fail to elicit family
input. Families understand the “little things” that make a
visit to the physician effective and beneficial. This can include such
things as how the practice has trained staff to answer an initial phone
call, to how the practice can schedule additional time to treat children
with special health care needs. By asking families “what could be
done better”, or “what can we do to make your appointment
more beneficial”, these simple questions can provide opportunities
for families to help improve the quality of health care delivery within
the practice.
Practices that have incorporated family involvement have seen changes
that have enhanced the quality of care. Numerous practices across Illinois
have made changes as a result of family involvement. Some of these changes
include:
- Use of specific phone scripts at the point of initial contact to
help make the appointment go smoothly for the family. These scripts
often ask for family input on accommodations needed to improve their
visit experience, such as waiting in the waiting room versus being placed
immediately in the exam room.
- Assistance getting into and out of the office, when needed.
- Extended appointment times for children with special health care
needs.
- Routinely asking for family feedback in the form of surveys or questionnaires.
- Providing resources in the practice, like internet access or distributing
specific health related materials.
- Providing parent to parent connections by way of support groups or
after hours informational meetings.
Why is family involvement the cornerstone of the Medical Home in your
practice? Because each partner - the family, the primary care provider
and other office staff - brings their unique perspective to the process.
Each partner has important viewpoints to contribute to the process, so
each has uniquely meaningful ways to enhance the delivery of quality health
care.
Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and
collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.
Mattie Stepanek
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so
much.
Helen Keller
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