PCMH in a College Setting: A Brown Primary Care Transformation Initiative

While the PCMH is the primary care model of choice for many healthcare systems, it is a relatively new area for college communities. The college health setting provides an important and challenging primary care platform because of developmental milestones that young adults face at this time of their lives. The Brown Primary Care Transformation Initiative (BPCTI) facilitated PCMH practice transformation efforts within a university center from 2013-2015. A mixed methods evaluative approach was used for baseline and follow-up periods as part of a broader transformation initiative that included interviews, surveys, focus groups, and observations. The college health practice was engaged in a number of other transformation activities concurrently. Results suggest that these multiple efforts, of which BPCTI's facilitation was one, together had a positive effect in this college health setting. This intervention provides a unique window into strengths and challenges for a college health practice as it seeks to transform its provision of primary care.