Understanding Patient Centred Medical Home (PCMH) Transitions in Western Sydney

Appropriately resourced and structured primary healthcare is recognised as key to an effective and efficient healthcare system. There is accumulating evidence that patient-centred medical homes (PCMHs) can deliver high quality primary health care. In Australia an ageing population, increasing prevalence of chronic disease and increasing health costs have prompted both government and professional organisations to consider PCMH models of care. A number of western Sydney general practices have been involved in projects supporting transformation from a traditional Australian general practice model to a variety of practice models with features of the PCMH. Western Sydney, an area of cultural diversity and with one of the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in Australia, includes some areas of particular socio- economic and health disadvantage. Through the research reported in this paper, we aimed to describe PCMH implementation in western Sydney, in particular: "¢ To describe the current continuum of primary care transformation in western Sydney; "¢ To describe costs and resource needs associated with adopting the PCMH model; and "¢ To demonstrate feasibility of evaluation approaches and data collection methods for future research.