From OHC
August 20, 2013
Traditionally, a patient’s care has been isolated from one physician to another. If you’re seeing a cardiologist, your oncologist might never know unless you tell that doctor. But OHC is working to change that paradigm with a new program called Oncology Medical Home (OMH).
It is a team-based concept for cancer patient care based on the Medical Home model. In the Medical Home, a primary care physician (PCP) leads the care team and is the physician who serves as the first contact for care. The PCP is also responsible for coordinating the care of a patient with other providers and institutions.
To make Oncology Medical Home a consistent reality, there are a lot of pieces to put in place. And it will take time, effort, and a considerable investment on our part. However, we are fully dedicated to being at the forefront of bringing our patients the region’s most fully coordinated, accessible, and efficient cancer care in an oncology medical home system.
The Oncology Medical Home concept applies the Medical Home model to cancer care. With an OMH, the oncologist becomes the care coordinator, instead of the PCP. This is necessary due to the complexity and severity of cancer treatments, and the fact that the treatment of the cancer often becomes the main focus of all other medical care that the patient might receive.
The word “Home” in the title does not refer to the home a patient lives in, but rather to a base or hub from which the entire spectrum of health needs are managed and coordinated. The OMH is meant to be a patient-centered concept that involves the entire structured care continuum for that patient, touching every aspect of their health care experience, including communications, education, billing, and all other services in between.
“Home” is also used to emphasize OHC’s mission of placing “Patients First.” Consider the significance of what it means to call someplace home. Home is a place of comfort, trust, hope, and caring — everything that an oncology practice should provide.
OHC is implementing the OMH concept to increase the level of coordination, communication, and collaboration in cancer care delivery. This will ensure that our patients receive the right treatments, at the right time, in the right place.
The goal of the program is good patient management, and it requires an efficient system of communication between all the health care providers and the patient.
To referring physicians, the implementation of an OMH will enhance the level of coordination and communication, facilitate the co-management of patients, and create a network of care providers to manage any and all of the patient’s care needs.
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