Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative Stakeholders Convene In Washington, DC For Working Meeting

Washington, DC - Health care has moved to center stage in the current political and economic climate. This month hundreds of stakeholders working to place the patient and primary care health care provider at the center of health care reform will convene in Washington, DC for a working meeting to advance the patient centered medical home (PCMH) model of health care delivery.

The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) is a coalition of more than 400 organizations representing the nation's business leaders, consumer groups, organizations representing primary care physicians and other health care stakeholders. Working groups within the PCPCC, or its Centers, produce products designed to advance understanding and adoption of PCMH. These active stakeholders will convene April 28 at 8 a.m. at the International Trade Center, Ronald Reagan Building to discuss opportunities and challenges within sight on the PCMH landscape.

The Stakeholder's Working Meeting combines current updates from thought leaders on the PCMH with an afternoon of break-out sessions organized around the PCPCC's four working Centers -- the Center for Public Payer Implementation, the Center for eHealth Information Adoption and Exchange, the Center for Multi-Stakeholder Demonstrations, and the Center for Employer Benefit Redesign and Implementation.

"Each of the PCPCC Centers actively pursues advancement of the PCMH model based on very specific goals and objectives that support the Collaborative Principles," said Edwina Rogers, executive director of the PCPCC. "Our membership volunteers enormous expertise and commitment in their Center work. This meeting is an opportunity for face-to-face stakeholder collaboration that is invaluable to the organization."

The April 28 meeting will include the release of educational materials designed to reach out to consumers and to empower patients in their central role in the PCMH. Speakers invited to speak in a panel on this topic include Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, executive director of the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation; Dorothy Jefferies, MBA, MSW, MA, executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Health; Bob Taveres, vice president of care management for Emmi Solutions; Rob Dribbon of Merck & Company and Christine Bechtel, vice president of National Partnership for Women and Families.

The Stakeholder's Working Meeting will also feature the release of a Resource Guide developed by the PCPCC Center for eHealth Information Adoption and Exchange. David Nace, M.D., a vice president and chief medical officer of the McKesson Corporation, co-chairs this Center and will present a session entitled "Meaningful Connections: Advancing the Patient Centered Medical Home Through Health IT."

Expert panels will also discuss topics such as the impact of current federal activities; transforming clinical practice into a medical home; and building the successful PCMH team. A sample of these conference panelists includes:

• Christine Sinsky, M.D.
• Suzanne Mitchell, M.D., Faculty, Boston University School of Medicine
• Linda Strand, PharmD, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor College of Pharmacy University of Minnesota
• Rich Antonelli, M.D., Associate Professor and Division Head, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
• Linda Magno, Medicare Demonstration Group, CMS
• Phil Magistro, Pennsylvania Governor's Office of Health Care Reform, Southeast Pennsylvania Chronic Care Commission Rollout
• Dr. Lynn Mitchell, M.D., Oklahoma State Medicaid Director
• Tom Kraus, Senate HELP Committee, Professional Staff, Senator Ted Kennedy

A complete agenda is available at http://www.pcpcc.net/content/april-28th-2009-stake-holders-working-meeting-agenda.

The PCPCC is organized and financed to provide better outcomes for patients, more efficient payment to physicians and better value, accountability and transparency to purchasers and consumers. Studies of the PCMH model show that it improves patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. It also lowers health care costs by improving care coordination and communication between primary care physicians and their patients.

SOURCE: Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative