open access: Tool Used To Assess How Well Community Health Centers Function As Medical Homes May Be Flawed

Blogger's Note: 
this paper is specific to the care of those with diabetes (our under-served populations), however, the concept of 'medical homes' expands beyond a singular disease...so it is therefore worth reading


"In the United States, more than 8,000 community health center sites provide comprehensive primary care services, mainly serving a minority and low-income population.¹ This article focuses on community health centers that meet accountability standards set by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and are designated as federally qualified health centers.^2...........In selecting our sample within this consortium, we applied two inclusion criteria, both NCQA prerequisites at the time for becoming a patient-centered medical home. The practice had to provide primary care services, and it had to employ at least one physician. When the research team approached the medical directors of the member organizations, none had previously completed the NCQA medical home tool. ^"