Patient-Centered Medical Home

In 2012, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) certified the SHCS medical primary care clinic as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Our program was just the second college student health center in the country to become certified as a PCMH and since that time, many college health centers have pursued this approach to healthcare delivery.

To achieve PCMH certification, our medical clinic developed a care model uniquely designed to increase patient access to comprehensive health care and wellness resources. The PCMH (or simply, “Medical Home”) service delivery model offers a superior approach to optimizing student health and wellness care.

The SHCS "Medical Home"

The SHCS Medical Home facilitates health care partnerships between individual patients and their personal primary care provider. To achieve this, all students are assigned to a designated primary care provider and health care team throughout their UC Davis enrollment. In addition to the consistency of the primary care provider assignment, the Medical Home model focuses on five key aspects of care:

The patient/provider relationship
Continuity of care
Comprehensiveness of care
Quality of care
Accessibility

The Patient/Provider Relationship

Partnership ensures that health care decisions respect patients’ wants and preferences while addressing their assessment and treatment needs. Partnership enables patients to receive the education and support to make personalized choices and participate in their own care. The partnership strives to foster better communication, understanding and collaboration between patient and provider, improving adherence to a mutually agreed upon healthcare plan.

Continuity of Care

Continuity is prioritized to ensure more than 50% of primary care visits are with the same physician or physician team. Continuity facilitates consistency in care management and assures that your treatment team documents and reviews all important and relevant information in your clinical record. Documentation of consultations, referrals, procedures, follow-ups, missed appointments and after-hours encounters is consistently available to your treatment team.

Comprehensiveness of Care

Comprehensive care enables your primary care provider to optimally address all aspects of your healthcare needs. Prevention resources, wellness care, acute illness and injury treatment, and chronic care management are all available to you from your primary care team. The team can also provide referrals to community services as appropriate, provide follow up care, and collaborate with the community specialists or allied health professionals to ensure that you receive the best care.

Quality of Care

SHCS Medical Home providers incorporate evidence-based guidelines and performance measures to provide the best quality clinical services. Providers assess the value of our services in meeting your unique needs to help SHCS continuously improve our care. Guidelines and measures are regularly monitored and evaluated to ensure that they are current, effective and appropriate. Reviews include assessment of timely diagnosis, testing guidelines, referral patterns, and medication management.

Accessibility

“Open Access” appointment scheduling improves timely access to care, with appointments for routine wellness needs, illness treatment and disease management usually available within the same or next business day. Providing ready access to clinic services helps to ensure that patients pursue wellness resources with optimal convenience to seek early intervention treatment services and promptly address illness or injury. Follow up care may be facilitated through advance scheduling. Most services from our allied health and on-site consultant specialists require scheduling in advance. SHCS also provides after-hour advice nurse and counseling services consultation 24/7 for all UC Davis students wishing to discuss medical and mental health concerns and determine the need for care when our facilities are closed.

SHCS offers tips to help students use the Patient-Centered Medical Home to optimize their care. Our knowledgeable staff understand that academic demands, financial constraints, and the complex healthcare environment can make getting care while in college a challenge.

Make the Most of Your Medical Home

SHCS is certified as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, or more commonly referred to as simply Medical Home, by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). Through the Medical Home model, each student is partnered with a designated primary care provider throughout their college years. This fosters a positive patient-provider relationship and encourages clear and effective communication, which has been shown to lead to better health outcomes and higher patient satisfaction.

Here we will break down five easy steps to help you get the most out of your care at SHCS:

Make Your FIRST Visit Count
To identify your assigned primary care provider, go to Health-e-Messaging, log in and enter your profile page where your current Primary Care Clinician will be listed. You can learn more about your assigned primary care provider through our Meet Your Provider page.

You can schedule a first appointment by using the Health-e-Messaging appointment page or by calling the SHCS Appointment Desk at (530) 752-2349. Bring in your records and your list of medications and allergies. Though you may have a specific health care need, be prepared to discuss your healthcare history so that your provider can get a comprehensive understanding of your overall health status.

Even if you have no illness or injury, you can get acquainted with your provider by scheduling a “Wellness Visit” for your first appointment. (Unlike treatment appointments, Wellness Visits are always scheduled by calling the SHCS Appointment Desk at (530) 752-2349.) Your Wellness Visit is an opportunity to share your wellness goals and get advisement on prevention services and self-care resources. The better you can communicate your goals, the better your provider can understand the resources needed to best help you achieve them. It’s important to find a provider with health philosophies that match yours; someone who shares your perspective on important decisions regarding your care.
Build and Maintain a Relationship with Your Provider
Continuity of care with your primary care provider has been shown to lead to better health outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. Patient-Provider coordination also leads to fewer errors such as drug interactions and duplicate tests. Strong partnerships foster better, quicker communication.

SHCS encourages all students to build and maintain an on-going relationship with their provider. Keep your provider up to date on your health status, including your physical and mental wellness. Reach out to your provider using Health-e-Messaging with any health concerns you have. Let them know if you receive care elsewhere from either medical or allied healthcare providers. Let them know how you respond to treatments or self-care resources. Your provider is here to be your trusted healthcare resource throughout your college years.

Your provider also leads a highly skilled team of health care professionals that include nurses, counselors, pharmacists, medical assistants, and specialist doctors who attend to your care. The team treats you as a whole person and will also work with you on prevention and wellness to achieve a healthy lifestyle, both physical and mental health and a plan of care for any major health problems.
Make the Most of EVERY Visit
Prepare to review your current symptoms as well as any changes in your overall health status. You can write things down to keep track of what you will tell your provider. Be sure to tell your provider your main concerns at the start of your visit to ensure that these are thoroughly addressed at your appointment. You and your provider can begin by agreeing on an agenda that best addresses the primary reason for your visit and set a plan for subsequent visits if multiple problems need to be addressed in greater depth. Always be prepared to update your list of medications and/or supplements, including dosages.
Get the Follow-up Care You Need
For more complicated situations, your provider may ask you to return for a follow-up appointment. For chronic conditions, longer term monitoring or medication management may be required. For some situations, follow-up can be conducted through Health-e-Messaging without an in-person visit. Overtime, you may identify new needs for prevention resources like immunizations or contraception. You may learn of an increased risk for a medical condition that warrants health screening. Your medical home is the place to visit for both preventive treatments and health screenings. It is your resource you for internship, travel or pre-participation clearances.
Ask Questions
Do not be afraid to ask. Make sure you are clear about your treatment plan. It is important for you to understand what you need to do in order to get better and stay well. This is a partnership: speak up if you do not fully comprehend what your provider has advised you to do regarding your treatment and care.

Don’t hesitate to ask about lifestyle or behavior changes that can improve your health. Much of what you eat, how you recreate, when you sleep, and how you relax has a profound effect on your health and wellness. Your provider can recommend resources and work with you to help you find out what works best for you.