Medical Home Partnerships
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, through its Division of Women and Children’s Services (WCS), supports and encourages the expansion of medical homes (i.e., care that is accessible, family-centered, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally competent) for children and their families through the development of public/private partnerships. In these partnerships, the medical primary care provider assumes the medical aspects of care and the public health partner provides the services that augment and enhance primary medical care. These partnerships are customized to individual community needs. These services help promote:
- Healthier lifestyles
- Assistance for accessing services
- Positive health outcomes
- Appropriate use of the medical home
The use of Public/Private Partnerships have shown the following positive outcomes:
- Increased show rates for well child care
- Improved compliance with one stop shopping
- Decreased emergency room usage
For a further description and explanation of the different types of partnerships, look at these Examples of Partnership Models.
Partnerships: