Medical Home Implementation Gaps for Seniors: Perceptions and Experiences of Primary Care Medical Practices

Objective: The study objective was to better understand specific implementation gaps for various aspects of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) care delivered to seniors. The study illuminates the physician and staff experience by focusing on how individuals make sense of and respond behaviorally to aspects of PCMH implementation. Method: Qualitative data from 51 in-depth, semi-structured interviews across six different National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)-accredited primary care practices were collected and analyzed. Results: Physicians and staff identified PCMH implementation gaps for their seniors: (a) performing in-depth clinical assessments, (b) identifying seniors’ life needs and linking them with community resources, and (c) care management and coordination, in particular self-management support for seniors. Prior experiences trying to perform these aspects of PCMH care for older adults produced collective understandings that led to inaction and avoidance by medical practices around the first two gaps, and proactive behavior that took strategic advantage of external incentives for addressing the third gap. Conclusion: Greater understanding of physician and staff’s PCMH implementation experiences, and the learning that accumulates from these experiences, allows for a deeper understanding of how primary care practices choose to enact the medical home model for seniors on an everyday basis.