The Singapore Family Physician

Back to issue Vol 40 No. 4 - Disability Assessments

THE PATIENT-CENTRED MEDICAL HOME: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Wang Mingchang
Koh Thuan Wee
Sim Kok Ping
Tham Tat Yean

The Singapore Family Physician Vol 40 No 4 - Disability Assessments
72 - 75
1 October 2014
0377-5305
The "patient-centred medical home" is a model of healthcare delivery first conceived in the United States. It seeks to bring the values and principles of family medicine back into focus in this age of subspecialisation and fragmentation of care. This model is based on the following principles: a personal physician, physician-directed medical practice, whole person orientation, coordinated and integrated care, quality and safety, enhanced access to care and appropriate payment. Locally, should this model of care be implemented, a corresponding change in care delivery and funding model is needed. However, the patient-centred medical home has been associated with positive health outcomes at the primary care level in the United States. It will be interesting to see the potential impact on our healthcare system if such a model were to be implemented in Singapore.