Which model is described as a model of primary care that provides comprehensive and timely care to patients, while emphasizing teamwork and patient involvement?

• A. Fee-for-service model
• B. Regionalized care model
• C. Managed care organization
• D. Patient-centered medical home (PCMH)

Answer: (D)

The main concept being tested is the Patient-Centered Medical Home. This model organizes primary care around a team-based, coordinated approach that centers on the patient and delivers care that is comprehensive and timely. In a PCMH, a primary care team—physicians, PAs, nurse practitioners, nurses, care coordinators—works together to manage preventive services, acute issues, and chronic conditions, ensuring continuity and coordinated care across all settings. Timely access is emphasized, with options like same-day or near-term appointments, after-hours contact, and efficient care coordination through health information tools. The patient is actively involved in decision-making and supported in self-management, fostering a partnership rather than a one-visit-at-a-time approach. This combination—comprehensive care, timely access, teamwork, and patient involvement—defines PCMH and sets it apart from other models that prioritize payment structures or cost management over the collaborative, patient-centered organization of primary care.