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28th Annual Families
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Thursday, February 28
8:15-9:30 am
“Creating a Patient- and Family-centered Practice”
Susan Frampton, PhD, president, Planetree, Derby, Conn
The IOM's inclusion of "patient-centeredness" as one of the six pillars of quality patient care has brought unprecedented attention of this concept…along with a great deal of confusion as various constituencies have attempted to define it in practical and practicable terms. Planetree, a non-profit organization founded by a patient 30 years ago, has worked with hundreds of health care organizations to successfully define and operationalize whole-person care in clinical settings. This session will present the challenges and opportunities in reconnecting with a values-based approach to caregiving, and share best practices in ambulatory environments. Ideas for designing a family- and patient-centered practice using the ten core components of the Planetree model will assist participants who seek to create an exceptional patient experience in their own setting. Particular attention will be paid to the four primary environmental touch points, including: 1) Arrival & Greeting, 2) Waiting Areas, 3) Treatment & Procedures, and 4) Departure. Processes for assessing the current patient and family experience, setting priorities, and implementing change will be shared.
As the President of Planetree, a non-profit organization, Susan Frampton, PhD, works with a growing network of hospitals and health centers across the U.S., Canada and Europe that have implemented Planetree’s unique patient-centered model of care. Prior to her work with Planetree, she spent more than 20 years at several hospitals in the New England area. Her work focused on community education, wellness and prevention, planning, and development of integrative medicine service lines. Dr Frampton received both masters and doctoral degrees in medical anthropology from the University of Connecticut, and has numerous publications, including the edited collection Putting Patients First, that won the ACHE Hamilton Book of the Year Award in 2004, chapters in Patient Advocacy for Health Care Quality and articles and interviews in Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, AHA News, Modern Healthcare, and Hospitals and Health Networks. In addition to speaking widely on culture change, patient-centered design, and health care consumerism, Dr Frampton has presented keynotes on designing patient-centered practices in primary care, continuing care, and ambulatory medicine settings for the MGMA, Healthcare Design Symposium, and Veterans Health Administration.
Friday, February 29
8:15-9:30 am
"Collaborative Medical Home-Building 101: Harry Potter Learns Practice Jazz"
William Miller, MD, MA, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Bethlehem, Penn
Primary care’s promise of universal access with higher quality at lower costs remains dramatically unfulfilled in the United States. Many new practice arrangements and information technologies are emerging to fill this void but with limited success. Within this setting, the patient-centered medical home earns an historical distinction. It represents the first time all of the primary care medical organizations have agreed on a common policy strategy. But what is a patient-centered medical home? How is it different from current primary care practice? How does it build upon the ancient skills of family healing? Can these medical homes thrive in the current US policy environment? How do I convert my practice into one?
This session explores these questions and describes the Impact Model for systemic practice change and the 15 years of research leading to its development. This model is being used in the AAFP’s National Demonstration Project on implementing the patient-centered medical home, and the latest findings from this project will be shared. The metaphor of jazz improvisation, along with wisdom from Harry Potter, can serve as practical guides for implementing successful collaborations with patients, families, and local communities to create medical homes and to begin fulfilling primary care’s promise.
William Miller, MD, MA, a family physician and medical anthropologist, is Leonard Parker Pool Chair of Family Medicine at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network and Professor of Family & Community Medicine at Pennsylvania State University. Dr Miller celebrates wonder, justice, ecology, and adventure beginning with his own family. He helped establish the first group family practice in the Lehigh Valley before joining the faculty at the University of Connecticut. After 10 exciting and collaborative years in Hartford, he returned home in 1994 as founding program director of the Lehigh Valley Family Medicine Residency Program. Based on the principles of relationship-centered care, the residency is one of the national P4 sites.
An early pioneer of qualitative and multi-method research and the use of complexity science in primary care, Dr Miller and his long-time collaborator, Benjamin Crabtree, have written two related books. Dr Miller’s research publications include the areas of healing relationships, optimal healing environments, the clinical encounter, and transforming family medicine practice. He is currently consulting editor for the Annals of Family Medicine and an evaluator for the AAFP’s National Demonstration Project of the patient-centered medical home. His special joy is being an organizational rascal.
Saturday, March 1
8:00-9:15 am
“Bringing the Joy Back into Family Medicine: A TransforMED Practice's Experience with the New Model of Family Medicine
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Susan Nelson, MD, Steele Ford, MS, Kathy Steen, BSN, Harbor of Health, Memphis, TN
Harbor of Health opened in Memphis in 2005 and was selected as one of the practices in the National Demonstration Project of the AAFP’s TransforMed project. We have implemented many aspects of the new model of care that is being discussed on a national level, including a redesigned office, same day appointments, group visits for chronic disease management, and a team approach to delivering quality, patient-centered care. The emphasis of the team approach is to redistribute the workload, not make the provider go faster. Come hear from the medical director, nurse manager, and practice administrator about their experiences launching this innovative clinic. Patient satisfaction data and student teaching experiences will be discussed, as well as our challenges in implementation.
Susan Nelson, MD, is a wife, a mother, and a physician. But she's also a breast cancer survivor. While undergoing treatment, Dr Nelson found herself in a new role—that of a patient rather than a physician. "The entire time I was being treated, I kept wondering how people who weren't physicians could get through it. You'd have to be your own advocate," says Dr Nelson. That's why she decided to join Harbor of Health. She saw an opportunity to be a part of a health care model that focused on effective, yet friendly health care. "Harbor of Health’s care managers can give the people we see personal entry into their health care. We can’t fix it all. And there are parts of medical treatment that are not pleasant, no matter what. But where we succeed is in the follow-up. I believe most of us want to be healthier. We just need the tools, guidance, and an occasional pat on the back when we’ve made progress. That’s what we do."
Steele Ford, MS, is not your average health care director. He will be the first to tell you that he does not have a professional health care background, and that has worked to his advantage. Mr Ford brings a completely different point of view to the table—seeing health care through the eyes of a patient. He understands the typical patient's concerns and needs. He is committed to finding a whole new way to approach health care. And that's exactly why he was asked to lead the development of this new model— Harbor of Health.
Before joining Harbor of Health, Mr Ford was with the Redbirds baseball club and AutoZone Park where he served as their assistant general manager. As he built Memphis’ innovative, state-of-the-art ballpark from the ground up, he proved to be a master at turning a vision into reality. That’s what Harbor of Health is all about—a new vision for Memphis. “On the day we opened our doors at Harbor of Health, I had the same feelings that I had when the ballpark opened. We were on the verge of something great.” Mr Ford believes that health care can be about putting patients first, respecting their time, building relationships, and partnering with them in creating a healthy lifestyle.
Kathy Steen, BSN, is the nurse manager at Harbor of Health. Soon after she received her degree, Ms Steen learned that patient education wasn't part of the traditional practice of Western medicine. "I worked in a large hospital's cardiac step-down unit. They didn't take time to teach patients what they needed to do to help themselves. So the same patients kept coming back." She felt treating these patients for issues that could have been prevented with patient education just didn't seem right. Harbor of Health became the answer to a personal quest. "I kept thinking, 'How am I going to help people stay out of trouble?’ When I came to Harbor of Health for the interview, I knew this was it."