Connecting to Care and Services

A medical home is a partnership, rather than one physical place. The partnership involves a patient, family, primary provider, and sometimes community services.

Medical homes bring together many areas of healthcare. Ideally, this partnership feels like a home:

1. You go there over and over again.
2. You feel comfortable when you are there.
3. Care is centered on the needs of your family and is easy to access.
4. Your provider is your main contact for health care questions or concerns.
5. Your provider coordinates well with whatever health care providers you need to work with.
6. Your care involves compassionate, culturally sensitive relationships.

The medical team at your medical home should:

1. Know your child’s health history.
2. Listen to you and your child’s concerns and needs.
3. Work with other professionals to make sure that medical and non-medical needs of your child and family are met.
4. Create a trusting relationship with you and your child.
5. Develop a plan of care with you and your child.
6. Respect and honor your culture and traditions.

With your medical team at your medical home, you and your child can:

1. Be comfortable sharing questions and concerns.
2. Communicate needs and priorities on a regular basis.
3. Share about any medical care received between visits.

In a family-centered medical home, your primary medical team:

1. Is available when you need them. You can communicate with them easily and get appointments quickly.
2. Knows you and your health history. This helps them suggest the best treatment options for you and your family.
3. Helps you understand any conditions you or your family has.
4. Helps you coordinate care. This means finding specialists, getting appointments, and giving the needed information to these specialists in order to take care of you and your family.
5. Uses technology to share records in order to prevent medical errors and make sure everyone in your healthcare team is on the same page.