Patient Centered Medical Home is now at Tinker Family Health Clinic Published Oct. 16, 2014 By Staff Report 72nd Medical Group TINKER AIR FORCE BASE - Okla. -- What is Patient Centered Medical Home? Patient Centered Medical Home is a shift in how the country delivers primary care. It is a comprehensive model supported by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Air Force Surgeon General. This model has been in practice in civilian, and some military, health care settings for several years and is being fully implemented at Tinker AFB this year. Health care is delivered through a team-based approach with a medical provider leading a team of medical professionals (nurses and medical technicians) to provide a prevention-focused and whole person approach to take care of your health care needs. The key to PCMH is continuity and relationship building. Every effort is made to ensure the patient is cared for by the same family health team every time they visit the clinic. Improved continuity means better medical management because the health care team knows the patient and is familiar with their medical history and the patient builds trust and confidence with their team. Additionally, PCMH means improved access to health care. Your health care team nurse can assist you with medication refills, referrals for specialty care, and can coordinate any health care questions or concerns with your provider. Your medical technician can provide walk-in services for throat cultures, blood pressure checks and laboratory orders. Another way you can access your medical team is through a secure email program called MiCare. MiCare is a secure messaging program allowing you to privately and securely communicate with your healthcare team via email. Patients who register and use MiCare are able to quickly and easily communicate with their nurse, technicians, or provider and can send and receive information about lab results, referrals, and whether or not they might need to come in for a medical appointment. Register today at http://www.relayhealth.com to take advantage of this quick and easy way to communicate with your healthcare team. The 72nd Medical Group's goal for implementing the PCMH model is to deliver the highest quality, evidence-based, patient-centered care to all of their enrolled patients through team-oriented processes, good access to care, and high continuity between patients and their health care team. The focus is on better communication between patients and their health care team and preventing sickness and disease in order to keep the Tinker population healthy and ready.