Presenter: Christine Hunter, Rear Admiral, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy and Deputy Director of TRICARE Management Activity on the Military Health System Overview: This discussion will begin with an historical overview of the
conditions within the Military Health System (MHS) that led to the
policy decision from senior leadership to explore and develop the
Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). It will point out that stressors
associated with multiple deployments and sustained military operations
led to increased pressures on access and continuity with the MHS's
primary care portals, particularly in the direct care military
treatment facilities (MTFs). A corresponding lag in DoD beneficiary
satisfaction with health care and the escalating use of the purchased
care sector and ER's for non-emergent care was documented. The PCMH
model of care was felt to offer a potential blueprint forward and was
embraced by Leadership within the MHS at all levels. The presentation
will then describe the demographics of the DoD beneficiary population
along with some of the unique medical and sociocultural charactersitics of that population.
The discussion will then describe some of the details of the PCMH
journey for the MHS. The decision to use NCQA standards initially and
the general approaches to moving the PCMH model forward in both the
direct care and purchased care sectors of the MHS. The presentation
will include a discussion of the key process and outcome measures that
are currently being utilized and a review of some of the early results
of the PCMH rollout among MTF early adopters in the direct care
sector. It will also describe areas where we have experienced
continued lags in expected outcomes, particularly in the area of
continued ER overutilization. It will broadly discuss the current
status of the MHS approach to incentivizing PCMH development in the civilian purchased care sector through various potential strategies.
Finally, the seminar will wrap up with a description of current
efforts with Secure Messaging pilots and the linkage to the MHS
Patient Portal. The importance of patient activation as a key
component of a successful PCMH and our intent to leverage evolving
technology toward that goal will be emphasized and discussed.
Biography: Rear Admiral Hunter assumed duties as the Deputy Director of TRICARE Management Activity, coordinating health care for 9.6 million military beneficiaries worldwide in May of 2009.
Rear Admiral Hunter is a graduate of Boston University School of Medicine and has practiced in Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology. During her 29 years on active duty, she has served as Commanding Officer of Navy West and Naval Medical Center San Diego, Chief of Staff, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Pacific Fleet Surgeon, Commanding Officer of Naval Hospital Bremerton, Executive Assistant to the Navy Surgeon General, and Director of Medical Services at Naval Medical Center San Diego.
Her military decorations include the Legion of Merit (six awards), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal (two awards), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards).
