Table 1.

Joint Policy Statement: Patient-Centered Medical Home Principles*

Personal physician	Patients have an ongoing relationship with a personal physician First contact, continuous and comprehensive care
Physician-directed medical practice	Personal physician leads a team of individuals at the practice level Collective responsibility for the ongoing care of patients
Whole-person orientation	Medical home provides for all the patient's health care needs or appropriately arranges care with other qualified professionals Care for all stages of life: acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end-of-life care
Care is coordinated and/or integrated	Coordination of care across the health care system and patient's community Care is facilitated by registries, information technology, health information exchange, use of interpreters, and other means
Quality and safety	Quality and safety improvement are hallmarks of the medical home Specific activities could include individualized care plans, evidence-based decision support tools, collection and reporting of quality improvement data, use of information technology, and voluntary certification of practices as medical homes
Enhanced access	Patients can easily access health care via their medical home Specific improvements could include open access scheduling, expanded hours, and enhanced phone or e-mail communication
Payment	Increased payments support the added level of service and value provided to patients who receive care from a medical home

* Issued jointly by the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Osteopathic Association.