Medical Home project for kids

Exciting progress is taking place in the Pediatric Department! Dr. Iyer and her staff have teamed with the Division of Specialized Care for Children, University of Illinois at Chicago to embark on a project that will help enhance access to quality health care for children with special health care needs.

This nationally recognized project is known as “Medical Home”. Maternal Child Health Bureau, HRSA, and The American Academy of Pediatrics have committed to this program, and together, are working towards the Healthy People 2010 goal that all children with special health care needs will have a Medical Home.

What is a Medical Home?

A medical home is not a building, house, or hospital. It is a way to provide access to quality health care in a cost-effective manner in a primary health care setting. Children and their families who have a medical home receive the care they need from a pediatrician or family physician whom they know and trust. The pediatric health care professionals and parents act as partners to identify and access all of the services needed to help children and their families achieve their maximum potential.

How is Dr. Iyer’s Group Attempting This?

Dr. Iyer has established a Quality Improvement Team (Parent-Physician Partnership Program) that consists of herself, four staff members, and two parent participants. The team meets regularly to brainstorm and implement ideas that can improve access to health care. The first idea being addressed is to identify children who have special health care needs so we can better accommodate them during office visits.

To do this, we ask families to complete a questionnaire that discusses their children and possible health conditions. After identifying a child with special health care needs from this questionnaire, Dr. Iyer places an "indicator" on the data screen alert box for this child. The alert box allows staff to recognize that this child may need special accommodations when coming in for an appointment. Several satellite offices throughout the clinic network can also view this alert box indicator.

This is only one of many exciting ideas the Quality Improvement Team is working on to better serve our young patients with special health care needs.

If you would like more information about the Medical Home project, please contact Christine Rico at Dr. Iyer's office.