(American College of Physicians: Philadelphia) -- Four organizations representing more than 350,000 primary care physicians have released joint Guidelines for Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition and Accreditation Programs. The new guidelines—created by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Physicians (ACP), and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA)—build on the Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home, which the four groups developed and adopted in February 2007.

As the PCMH model of health care gains prominence, a number of organizations are developing or offering medical-home recognition or accreditation programs. The new guidelines aim to ensure some standardization among those accreditation programs while encouraging a focus on the key elements of the PCMH.

“If we are to know the value of a patient-centered medical home’s accreditation, we need to be assured the accrediting program itself has met appropriate standards,” says Dr. Roland Goertz, president of the AAFP. “These guidelines help define those standards for accreditation programs.”

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