Health Service Management Interns Serve as Practice Facilitators for Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition: East...

East Carolina University College of Allied Health Science's Department of Health Services Management program is partnering with Community Care of North Carolina and Access East to transform medical practices and educate students on the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of health care delivery. Why now? The Affordable Care Act (2010) and other health care reform changes brought to the forefront the need to focus on improving the quality of care while lowering the overall cost of care. This article describes the first year of implementation of a PCMH initiative where students in a health services management internship program act as facilitators to assist practices in the PCMH recognition process. Lessons learned were the importance of provider and staff endorsement of the PCMH model. In addition, educational needs, time constraints, electronic health record training, understanding practice workflow, and understanding of the National Committee on Quality Assurance PCMH standards were important aspects of the prerequisite knowledge necessary for success. This article compares the ECU Practicum in Primary Care and the Appalachian State University Practicum in Primary Care to build a best practice model based upon the commonalities and uniqueness of each of the individual university programs and their practice sites.