Utah Medical Home Web Site Project

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Though most chronic diseases/conditions in childhood are very uncommon (<1/3000), together they affect about 13% of children in the United States. A busy pediatrician or family physician will care for many such patients, though few, if any, of her/his other patients will share the same diagnoses. Providing optimal care for Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) is challenging, requiring up-to-date knowledge, ready access to specialized health care resources, and considerable time to manage and coordinate care. Families and educators are also key providers of care and CSHCN will benefit when all the providers are enabled with information and when they work together as partners. These are key components of a "Medical Home". This project seeks to support primary care physicians, as well as families and educators, in meeting these challenges by providing a Web-based information and resource access system. The Utah Collaborative Medical Home Project (UCMHP) has developed the MedHome Portal (http://www.medhomeportal.org) to accomplish this goal. This proposal will further development of the site's infrastructure, enhance its utility and usability, and its offerings and its impact through the following specific aims: 1. Convert to an XML data structure and complete authoring and content management tools, integrating UMLS indexing. Use of XML will provide a robust and flexible structure for data and documents. UMLS indexing will allow optimal searching and navigation. Site and content management processes/tools will enable rigorous development and review of content and maintenance of current information on services. 2. Expand and optimize utility and usability of the MedHome Portal: Usability testing will drive ongoing improvement in presentation, navigation, and personalized features. Accessibility will be optimized. 3. Work with partners to expand content and impact of the Portal. Regional and national partnerships will expand content development and peer review, offer MedHome Portal resources through clinical information systems, and enable other locales to access customized versions of the Portal with local service listings. Promotion and training will be integrated for physicians, families, educators, and others. With increased registered user base, enhanced evaluation will be possible. Health system and public health partnerships will support long-term sustainability.