Telemedicine and the patient-centered medical home

Imagine an environment where health care coordination is seamless; where the pediatricians and their care teams could significantly reduce the time it takes to communicate and transfer the information between physicians, patients, and their families. Imagine a situation where unnecessary referrals and investigations are avoided, saving costs and anxieties for the patients. Welcome to the world of telemedicine and a patient-centered medical home (PCMH). Comprehensive health care delivered in the most efficient manner with the least expense is the cornerstone of these concepts. The concept of PCMH was first introduced in 1967 by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Pediatric Practice in the book, Standards of Child Health Care. The medical home concept originally referred to one central source of medical records for children with special health care needs. During the past 4 decades, this concept has transformed beyond data entry to methods of delivering the best quality of care for all children. In 2007, a joint statement by the AAP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and the American Osteopathic Association endorsed the PCMH concept.