Care Coordination: Advocating for Care Coordination
“I recently read about care coordination, but none of the care that my child gets seems to be coordinated. As a parent, how do I advocate to obtain care coordination?”
Topic
This topic relates to advocating for care coordination, specifically care coordination as described in the medical home literature.
According to the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP), a medical home is primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective.
You can learn about the medical home philosophy by linking to a video produced by the Wisconsin Medical Home Center. This video provides physician and parent perspectives on the medical home philosophy.
Care coordination, as defined within the medical home philosophy, is a process that coordinates comprehensive care by linking children and their families with appropriate services and resources to achieve good health.
Bottom Line
- Share information with your child’s physician and her medical staff about the medical home philosophy and your need for care coordination.
- To start a conversation about care coordination with your child’s physician, develop and use a care plan to communicate your child’s need for services/supports and talk to your child’s physician about how to be a partner to coordinate that care.
- Build a partnership with your child’s physician; voice your expectations for quality care coordination; be prepared for the doctor visit and share pertinent information; express satisfactions and concerns about the visit; and celebrate your child's successes when your child benefits from referrals and resource connections provided by your physician.
- If your state does not have policy that provides care coordination through a medical home, voice your concern to your state’s legislature and work in partnership with family organizations and others to promote this policy.
- Contact your local family advocacy organizations to learn about the different federal and state policies that offer some form of care coordination services and ask how you can access these services.
[Care Coordination Knowledge Bank Experienced-based Knowledge Research Policy]