The purpose of this Activity is to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts learned in this week’s readings/ educational videos.
Action Items

What are the risks to the security of health related data? what are the roles of inforamtion technoloogy to help protect them?
REVIEW ARTICLE
Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology
Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2013
© Diabetes Technology Society
Role of Health Information Technologies in the Patient-Centered
Medical Home
Jennifer L. Kraschnewski, M.D., M.P.H., and Robert A. Gabbay, M.D., Ph.D.
Abstract
A national effort to reform primary care, known as the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), requires fulfillment of six standards determined by the National Committee for Quality Assurance to (1) enhance access and continuity, (2) identify and manage patient populations, (3) plan and manage care, (4) provide self-care and community support, (5) track and coordinate care, and (6) measure and improve performance. Information technologies play a vital role in the support of most, if not all, of these standards. However, given the newness of the PCMH, little is known on how health information technologies (HITs) have been employed to accomplish these objectives. This article will review the role of HITs, including electronic health records, web-based patient
portals, telemedicine, and patient registries, with a focus on diabetes care, and how these technologies have been engaged in the establishment of the PCMH. In addition, we will discuss the benefits and potential risks and barriers to employing these technologies, including privacy and security concerns, as well as describe next steps for future work in this important area.
J Diabetes Sci Technol 2013;7(5):1376–1385
Introduction
T
he Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a national effort to revolutionize primary care from a system focused
on acute health needs to one designed to address chronic conditions and preventive care. At the center of the PCMH
is the concept of patient-centered care, described by the Institute of Medicine as health care that is both respectful
and responsive to a patient’s needs, preferences, and values.1 The overall goal for the PCMH model is to provide
high-quality, comprehensive, coordinated medical care to improve the population’s health by addressing the failures
and delivery gaps that exist in the current system.2 These failures of the U.S. health care system include lower quality,
inefficient care, which exists despite the devotion of greater than one-sixth of the country’s financial resources.3,4
Implementing the PCMH model was outlined as a priority in the upheld U.S. Affordable Care Act, given the promise
of this model to reduce health care expenditures.5 As one of the most expensive chronic illnesses, diabetes affects an
estimated 26 million Americans, and prevalence continues to increase each year.6 In addition to the cost and prevalence
of diabetes, the availability of evidence-based guidelines and quality chasm, a gap in high-quality, consistent medical
care for this condition make it an ideal focus for practices transitioning to a PCMH model. In fact, diabetes care has
been at the center of many early evaluations of PCMH efforts.7
Author Affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Abbreviations: (EHR) electronic health record, (HIT) health information technology, (NCQA) National Committee for Quality Assurance,
(PCMH) Patient-Centered Medical Home
Keywords: diabetes, electronic health record, health information technology, Patient-Centered Medical Home, primary care
Corresponding Author: Jennifer L. Kraschnewski, M.D., M.P.H., The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, 500 University Dr., HO34,