Overcoming Challenges to Teamwork on Medical Homes

A defining feature of the patient-centered medical home is care provided by teams of clinicians. With Commonwealth Fund support, Ann S. O'Malley, M.D., of Mathematica Policy Research and colleagues investigated how medical homes actually foster teamwork. In the Journal of General Internal Medicine study (Nov. 2014), they report that, among other things, the practices delegated many of physicians’ nonclinical tasks to other staff, sought staff input on workflow modifications, expanded the roles of medical assistants and nurses, and held regular team “huddles.”