The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) developed the medical home as a model of delivering primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective to every child and adolescent.
A pediatric medical home is a family-centered partnership within a community-based system that provides uninterrupted care.
Your interdisciplinary team consists of patients and families, primary care physicians, specialists and subspecialists, hospitals and healthcare facilities, public health and the community, all to give you the best possible care for you and your family.
Listen in as J. Hunter Leigh, DO explains all the advantages of a medical home.
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Establishing a Medical Home
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Learn more about Dr. Leigh
J. Hunter Leigh, DO
Dr. Hunter Leigh is a native of Greenville and joined Mountain View in August 2003. He completed his internship and residency in family medicine at Corpus Christi Medical Center. Dr. Leigh received his medical degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences of Iowa in Des Moines.Learn more about Dr. Leigh
Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): The medical home is a model of delivering primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated and compassionate. My guest today is Dr. Hunter Leigh. He's a family medicine physician at Greenville Health System. Welcome to the show, Dr. Leigh. So, tell us, really, what is a medical home? What does it in compass?
Dr. Hunter Leigh (Guest): The medical home encompasses your entire family. It is a health care model that seeks to promote effective, efficient care for children, adolescents and adults. So, from the very early stages of life to our latter stages of life.
Melanie: So, we're almost going back to the days when a family medicine physician took care of the entire family.
Dr. Leigh: You're exactly correct. Sometimes the old things are the good things. We are cycling back to comprehensive health care.
Melanie: How wonderful. Now, how does somebody seek out a medical home? What are they supposed to be looking for?
Dr. Leigh: They're supposed to look for an organization that has the proper tools, the “Organon” as what our philosophers of old used to say, an organization that has the ability to funnel you into proper specialists who would be an obstetrician, if you were pregnant; a pediatrician if you had young children, so…
Melanie: Okay. So, all of those things are what you're looking for. What types of healthcare providers are going to be involved in a medical home?
Dr. Leigh: First and foremost would be your primary care providers: the internal medicine physicians, family medicine physicians. And then you have your specialists and subspecialists, orthopedists. You would have endocrinology. You would have geriatricians. So, all of the primary care that would be able to funnel you into the proper specialist that you would need.
Melanie: So, when would somebody be looking for this? If you are young, starting out with a family, is that when you start to look for your pediatrician, for your family medicine physician, for the medical home?
Dr. Leigh: Absolutely. As with most things, starting out early usually is wisest course of action. If you are young and healthy, you're going to look to getting a family medicine physician or perhaps an internist. If you're young and healthy with children, then you would be looking for an internist or a family medicine position for yourself and then a pediatrician to take care of your children.
Melanie: And, how is insurance related to the medical home? Is there any additional money savings? Is it the same? Tell us how that works.
Dr. Leigh: Hopefully, if we're able to do things in an efficient and coordinated way, it is going to equate to health care savings. We know that a lot of health care money is not used as efficiently as we would like, and a lot of time and money is wasted in redundant care or uncoordinated care. So, if we have a system where you have a pilot, so to speak, such as your primary medicine doctor, that can channel you and funnel you into the right places at the right time. We think that efficiency, generally, does equate into Health care savings. We also think is better Health care.
Melanie: And, so, speaking of better health care, as our children become teenagers, and that's when parents really don't know what's happening, what are some more of the benefits of a medical home and, especially when dealing with teenagers and their parents? How can you help them as that medical home centered care?
Dr. Leigh: Well, teenagers are difficult, as we know and children are growing up and they're making the transition from children to adults, and so, the medical home can help us transition, if you will, from childhood, adolescence to adulthood. So, you will typically have children that are moving into adolescence that don't feel comfortable seeing a pediatrician. You know, they're in a room full of a bunch of small children. They're feeling like adults. I mean, they're not quite there yet but they sometimes, for example, would like to see an internist or a family medicine physician. So, having a medical home can help them make those decisions about who would best be able to care for them from a medical standpoint and also that would respect their wishes and we can help make that transition.
Melanie: And in this age of childhood obesity and we're seeing diseases showing up in our younger children, can the medical home bring in nutritionists, exercise experts? Can we bring in other practitioners to really help with the whole child or the whole family?
Dr. Leigh: Absolutely. I'm so glad you mentioned that. I will pick on my own, especially here, family medicine physicians or other physicians I think often times have thought of themselves as the captain of a ship or the ship. And, whereas, that is one part of the model of the medical home, a ship should never just have one person running the ship. It is a coordinated effort with many people on board and many people helping. So, the medical home, that's one of the key models--that we are seeking nutritionists, dietitians, other stuff, specialists that help coordinate in care in a manner that we cannot do by ourselves alone.
Melanie: What about children with special needs? Where do they fit into the medical home?
Dr. Leigh: The medical home, we were speaking earlier about who you should choose or what are some of the factors that would help you choose a medical home. You would want to choose a medical home that has access to subspecialists that could channel you into autism specialists or other special needs. So, you want to have a medical home that has access to these subspecialists.
Melanie: When I ask you is it okay to leave home, if they have to go to the emergency room, do they have reservations on families, is that part of the deal? And then, would their medical home physician come visit them in the emergency room or should they be need to be admitted?
Dr. Leigh: It depends upon the particular situation. I would say that part of a medical home is that you have coordinated care and you don't have what we call fragmented care, where one hand does not know what the other hand is doing. Should you have to go to the emergency department, you certainly should go. Depending upon the arrangement the emergency department has with your particular provider, they may or may not visit you in the emergency department. It just depends upon what your particular arrangement has been. Those are things you should ask when you decide to pick a medical home. What are the arrangements going to be? What does happen when I go to the emergency department? What can I expect? What can I expect from you? What can I expect from the other coordinated health team?
Melanie: You just answered my next question, how wonderful. And, what a great answer it is--what should patients ask when looking for that medical home. So, doctor, if you would for us, please wrap it up about the medical home. The efficiency, the family-centered feeling of it all. Give us your best advice and why patients should come to Greenville Health System for their care.
Dr. Leigh: Well, I think the patients should come to Greenville Medical System for their care because it is a patient-centered medical home which is coordinated, comprehensive, integrated and efficient. It is coordinated in the sense that we are talking to one another--emergency physicians are talking with the specialist; the family medicine physician is talking with the orthopedist. We are functioning as a team and not as a fractured unit. It's comprehensive in that it deals with all stages of life, from young children to men and women later in life. It's integrated in that we have a comprehensive electronic health record where we’re all on the same medical records to where we can see what each one is doing; and, it's efficient because a team that works well together works well. If the team works well together, not only does it save time and money but, more importantly it makes for better health care.
Melanie: Wow. Thank you so much. I applaud all the great work that you're doing, Dr. Leigh, and what a great wrap up to this very important segment. Thank you so much for being with us today. You're listening to Inside Health with Greenville Health System. For more information, you can go to ghs.org. That's ghs.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Melanie Cole (Host): The medical home is a model of delivering primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated and compassionate. My guest today is Dr. Hunter Leigh. He's a family medicine physician at Greenville Health System. Welcome to the show, Dr. Leigh. So, tell us, really, what is a medical home? What does it in compass?
Dr. Hunter Leigh (Guest): The medical home encompasses your entire family. It is a health care model that seeks to promote effective, efficient care for children, adolescents and adults. So, from the very early stages of life to our latter stages of life.
Melanie: So, we're almost going back to the days when a family medicine physician took care of the entire family.
Dr. Leigh: You're exactly correct. Sometimes the old things are the good things. We are cycling back to comprehensive health care.
Melanie: How wonderful. Now, how does somebody seek out a medical home? What are they supposed to be looking for?
Dr. Leigh: They're supposed to look for an organization that has the proper tools, the “Organon” as what our philosophers of old used to say, an organization that has the ability to funnel you into proper specialists who would be an obstetrician, if you were pregnant; a pediatrician if you had young children, so…
Melanie: Okay. So, all of those things are what you're looking for. What types of healthcare providers are going to be involved in a medical home?
Dr. Leigh: First and foremost would be your primary care providers: the internal medicine physicians, family medicine physicians. And then you have your specialists and subspecialists, orthopedists. You would have endocrinology. You would have geriatricians. So, all of the primary care that would be able to funnel you into the proper specialist that you would need.
Melanie: So, when would somebody be looking for this? If you are young, starting out with a family, is that when you start to look for your pediatrician, for your family medicine physician, for the medical home?
Dr. Leigh: Absolutely. As with most things, starting out early usually is wisest course of action. If you are young and healthy, you're going to look to getting a family medicine physician or perhaps an internist. If you're young and healthy with children, then you would be looking for an internist or a family medicine position for yourself and then a pediatrician to take care of your children.
Melanie: And, how is insurance related to the medical home? Is there any additional money savings? Is it the same? Tell us how that works.
Dr. Leigh: Hopefully, if we're able to do things in an efficient and coordinated way, it is going to equate to health care savings. We know that a lot of health care money is not used as efficiently as we would like, and a lot of time and money is wasted in redundant care or uncoordinated care. So, if we have a system where you have a pilot, so to speak, such as your primary medicine doctor, that can channel you and funnel you into the right places at the right time. We think that efficiency, generally, does equate into Health care savings. We also think is better Health care.
Melanie: And, so, speaking of better health care, as our children become teenagers, and that's when parents really don't know what's happening, what are some more of the benefits of a medical home and, especially when dealing with teenagers and their parents? How can you help them as that medical home centered care?
Dr. Leigh: Well, teenagers are difficult, as we know and children are growing up and they're making the transition from children to adults, and so, the medical home can help us transition, if you will, from childhood, adolescence to adulthood. So, you will typically have children that are moving into adolescence that don't feel comfortable seeing a pediatrician. You know, they're in a room full of a bunch of small children. They're feeling like adults. I mean, they're not quite there yet but they sometimes, for example, would like to see an internist or a family medicine physician. So, having a medical home can help them make those decisions about who would best be able to care for them from a medical standpoint and also that would respect their wishes and we can help make that transition.
Melanie: And in this age of childhood obesity and we're seeing diseases showing up in our younger children, can the medical home bring in nutritionists, exercise experts? Can we bring in other practitioners to really help with the whole child or the whole family?
Dr. Leigh: Absolutely. I'm so glad you mentioned that. I will pick on my own, especially here, family medicine physicians or other physicians I think often times have thought of themselves as the captain of a ship or the ship. And, whereas, that is one part of the model of the medical home, a ship should never just have one person running the ship. It is a coordinated effort with many people on board and many people helping. So, the medical home, that's one of the key models--that we are seeking nutritionists, dietitians, other stuff, specialists that help coordinate in care in a manner that we cannot do by ourselves alone.
Melanie: What about children with special needs? Where do they fit into the medical home?
Dr. Leigh: The medical home, we were speaking earlier about who you should choose or what are some of the factors that would help you choose a medical home. You would want to choose a medical home that has access to subspecialists that could channel you into autism specialists or other special needs. So, you want to have a medical home that has access to these subspecialists.
Melanie: When I ask you is it okay to leave home, if they have to go to the emergency room, do they have reservations on families, is that part of the deal? And then, would their medical home physician come visit them in the emergency room or should they be need to be admitted?
Dr. Leigh: It depends upon the particular situation. I would say that part of a medical home is that you have coordinated care and you don't have what we call fragmented care, where one hand does not know what the other hand is doing. Should you have to go to the emergency department, you certainly should go. Depending upon the arrangement the emergency department has with your particular provider, they may or may not visit you in the emergency department. It just depends upon what your particular arrangement has been. Those are things you should ask when you decide to pick a medical home. What are the arrangements going to be? What does happen when I go to the emergency department? What can I expect? What can I expect from you? What can I expect from the other coordinated health team?
Melanie: You just answered my next question, how wonderful. And, what a great answer it is--what should patients ask when looking for that medical home. So, doctor, if you would for us, please wrap it up about the medical home. The efficiency, the family-centered feeling of it all. Give us your best advice and why patients should come to Greenville Health System for their care.
Dr. Leigh: Well, I think the patients should come to Greenville Medical System for their care because it is a patient-centered medical home which is coordinated, comprehensive, integrated and efficient. It is coordinated in the sense that we are talking to one another--emergency physicians are talking with the specialist; the family medicine physician is talking with the orthopedist. We are functioning as a team and not as a fractured unit. It's comprehensive in that it deals with all stages of life, from young children to men and women later in life. It's integrated in that we have a comprehensive electronic health record where we’re all on the same medical records to where we can see what each one is doing; and, it's efficient because a team that works well together works well. If the team works well together, not only does it save time and money but, more importantly it makes for better health care.
Melanie: Wow. Thank you so much. I applaud all the great work that you're doing, Dr. Leigh, and what a great wrap up to this very important segment. Thank you so much for being with us today. You're listening to Inside Health with Greenville Health System. For more information, you can go to ghs.org. That's ghs.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
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