New Training Approach Could Create Patient-Centered Medical Homes

Researchers recently published a solution for changing primary care healthcare delivery into a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model.

Changing routines, using new technologies, and forming new processes and roles is a process that can take years, according to a study published in the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making. Researchers created a training program where a group of change agents (practice facilitators) learned a simplified form of cognitive task analysis (CTA) that can be used to understand complex cognitive processes.

The facilitators used CTA to examine how physicians and their staff thought about and delivered care, and then advised them on methods to improve macrocognitive functions, such as coordination and learning. The researchers were able to train 14 facilitators through workshops, field training, data collection, analysis, and delivering reports.

According to the study, the training program needs to meet 3 criteria:

• CTA data collection process should not impact daily operations
• reports need to be turned around quickly
• reports need to be understandable and actionable

These criteria were met during the study, and initial experiences indicate that the reports were a positive change. The simplified training allowed facilitators to identify potential problems quickly and efficiently in a group of practices in Canada.

The researchers believe that this training approach could provide many primary care physicians with the resources to help them transform into PCMHs, the study concluded.