Rhode Island Department of HealthState of Rhode Island
Department of Health
Rhode Island Department of HealthState of Rhode Island
Department of Health
Medical Homes, also known as the Patient-Centered Medical Homes, are an approach to providing comprehensive primary care that facilitates partnerships between individual patients, and their primary or specialty care providers, and when appropriate, the patient’s family. Medical homes for children with special health care needs are vital and should be: coordinated, comprehensive, continuous, culturally competent, family-centered, and compassionate. The Office of Special Needs provides providers with a resources in providing a medical home for children and youth with special needs and their families.
Healthcare transition can be defined as a purposeful, planned process that addresses the medical, psychosocial, educational/vocational needs of adolescents and young adults as they move into adulthood.
A well-timed transition, leading to transfer from child- to adult-oriented healthcare, ideally occurs between 12-21 years, with the goal to maximize life-long functioning and well-being.
In response to the 2002 consensus statement coauthored by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American College of Physicians (ACP)-American Society of Internal Medicine, The Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health recommend the following timeline for adolescent healthcare transition:
The Rhode Island Department of Health echoes this consensus statement in encouraging all primary care providers and medical sub-specialists who serve adolescents to adopt a transition policy. Transition planning should be a standard component care for all youth and young adults, and every patient should have a transition plan including a portable medical summary. The Office of Special Needs is available for on-site transition technical assistance.
Check out the Rhode Island Medical Home Portal
The Medical Home Portal is a unique source of reliable information about children and youth with special health care needs, offering a “one-stop shop” for their families, physicians and medical home teams, and other professionals and caregivers. For more information on the Rhode Island Medical Home Portal, you can watch this short video and check out the Medical Home Portal brochure.