University of Minnesota: Enhancing the Primary Care Clinic Team

Member since: March 2014

Intervention: Enhancing the Primary Care Clinic Team

Partners:

University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH)
University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy
University of Minnesota Medical School
University of Minnesota Physicians

Occupations represented: Students and professionals including care coordinators, case managers, interpreters, lab technicians, licensed practical nurses, medical assistants, medical residents, medical students, nurses, nurse practitioners, patient service representatives, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, social workers and ultrasound technicians.

Overview: DFMCH is testing transformative standardized teamwork using an interprofessional practice and education (IPE) approach that includes the patient in the learning, practice and outcome model.

DFMCH manages primary care residency clinics that are building a new model of team-based care using an expansion of the certified medical assistant (MA) role. The intervention places MAs as "visit assistants" working closely, in a non-duplicative manner, with the primary care clinician during all primary care visits.

The model coordinates behavioral and medical approaches to care delivery, and the goal is to develop a successful model that is both transportable and scalable. Outcomes measured in the study include specific health outcomes associated with diabetes and other chronic diseases, team competencies, patient and provider satisfaction, wait times, and care process completions.

Intervention study question: