Patient-Centered Medical Homes and Physician Assistant Education: Preparing the PA Student for the Practice of the Future

Abstract

Purpose: The patie n t-ce n te re d m edical hom e (PCMH) ho ld s prom ise fo r im p ro vin g p rim ary health care delivery, b u t little is know n a b o u t its im p a ct on m edical education. The purpose o f th is stu d y w as to exam ine th e e xtent to w h ich physician a ssista n t (PA) stu d e n ts are exposed to elem ents o f th e PCMH d u rin g th e d id a ctic and clin ica l phases o f th e ir education. Methods: A survey w as d is trib u te d to clin ica l co o rd in a to rs a t all accredited PA program s in th e U nited States th a t m et th e stu d y in clu sio n crite ria . The survey in q u ire d a b o u t curricu la ce ntral to practice in th e PCMH: team -based care, ele ctro n ic m edical record u tiliz a tio n , and p rin cip le s o f care co o rd in a tio n . Results: O f th e 211 c lin ic a l c o o rd in a to rs th a t w ere surveyed, we received responses from 87 (41% ), o f w hich 9 4 % stated th a t th e y teach p rin cip le s o f in te rp ro fe ssio n a l team -based practice d u rin g th e d id a c tic phase. S ixty percent or m ore teach concepts related to ph ysicia n -d ire cte d team s, q u a lity im p ro ve m e n t, care co o rd in a tio n , and e le ctro n ic m edical records. O nly 25% o f resp o n d e n ts provide in stru ctio n in paym ent stru ctu re s th a t reward care co o rd in a tio n and high q u a l ity care, and 2 2 % stated th a t th e ir stu d e n ts do n o t have exposure to th e PCMH. M ost im p o rta n tly, less th a n 25% o f resp o n d e n ts u tilize d e sig nated PCMH clin ic a l site s, and th o se th a t do have been d o in g so fo r less th a n tw o years. Conclusion: M any PA program s teach som e o f th e core concepts o f PCMH d u rin g th e d id a ctic phase, b u t exposure to PCMH d u rin g clin ica l cle rksh ip s rem ains lim ite d . Concerted e ffo rt is needed to b e tte r prepare PA stu d e n ts to fu n ctio n in th e se em erging team -based practices.