The Patient-centered Medical Home: a new perspective for the family medicine clerkship.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Patient-centered Medical Home (PCMH) concept, essential functions of primary care, and an appropriate primary care workforce have been shown to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs. This paper describes a curriculum that uses the PCMH and related health policy concepts as the foundation for didactic, clinical, and self-directed elements. The PCMH-focused curriculum improved overall student clerkship ratings and maintained student performance on the National Board of Medical Education subject exam.