West Virginia State Implementation Grant
Improving specialty health care for Children with Special Health Care Needs by creating a Virtual Medical Home
The West Virginia State Implementation Grant (WV SIG) is working to build a family-centered, culturally competent and community based system of care for Children with Special Health Care Needs.
The three year project will develop a model of integrated services supported by health information technologies to create a Virtual Medical Home.
What is a Medical Home?
A Medical Home is not a hospital, building or house. It is a partnership between pediatric health care professionals and parents who work together to achieve the best medical and non-medical services to help their children.
A Medical Home provides care that is:
- Accessible
- Family-Centered
- Comprehensive
- Continuous
- Coordinated
- Compassionate
- Culturally Effective
Creating a "Virtual Medical Home" will help bridge the gap between families and their specialty care providers created by physical distance.
Grant Goals
Create a Virtual Medical Home On-line
The Virtual Medical Home is a secure, electronic site that will be accessible for families, patients and local health care providers. Using electronic health records has the potential to improve care by providing access to medical records and empowering patients and families to take an active role in their health care.
Some of the information shared will be:
- Diagnosis
- Medication list
- Summary sheet
- Recent lab work
- Special tests
- Care plans
Promote Successful Transition
Transition checklists will be used to promote successful transition of youth with special health care needs into the adult health care system. This will encourage adolescents to become responsible for coordinating their own health care as much as possible.Conduct Webinars
Web-based education on screening, evaluation and diagnosis will be available. The information will assist physicians and other health care providers to identify children with special health care needs. Webinars will also be developed for families on the benefits of the medical home model and how to partner with health care providers.Provide Telehealth Clinics
Telehealth Clinics will provide access to specialty care appointments in the patient's local community by using Mountaineer Doctor Television (MDTV). Using telehealth clinics will allow specialty and primary care providers as well as care coordinators to be a part of the clinic and, in essence, become the Virtual Medical Home.Collaborating Partners:
- Center for Excellence in Disabilities
- WVU Department of Pediatrics
- WV Primary Care Network
- WVU Mountaineer Doctor Television
- Children with Special Health Care Needs Program
- Parents and Patients
For more information, contact:
Center for Excellence in Disabilities
West Virginia State Implementation Grant
959 Hartman Run Road
Morgantown, WV 26505
304-293-4692
www.cedwvu.org
Margaret Jaynes, MD, SIG Project Director
Deborah Roman, RN, SIG Project Coordinator
This project is funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Division of Services for Children with Special Health Care Needs, Integrated Services Branch.
