2019 Clinical Services Report
by David Walsworth, MD, Associate Professor; Associate Chairperson for Clinical Affairs
Michigan State University Family Health Center
The mission of the Michigan State University (MSU) Family Health Center (FHC) is to provide patient-centered primary health care and clinical education with excellence through teamwork and innovation.
The MSU FHC is a joint venture of the MSU College of Human Medicine (CHM) and the MSU College of Nursing (CoN). The family physician faculty of CHM combine with family and adult nurse practitioner faculty of CoN to provide patient-centered primary care to the socio-economically, racially, and linguistically diverse patients who, with our providers and staff, comprise our FHC. We address social determinants of health with community resources to best care for our patients. We increase access by reserving 30% of our appointment slots for same day or next day access and by offering extended hours (early morning and early evening) on most days. We incorporate the voices of our patients and their families through our Patient and Family Council.
The FHC continues to participate in Medicare and Medicare patient-centered home projects. In 2019, we participated in both the Statewide Innovation Model (Michigan Medicaid SIM) and Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (Medicare CPC+). We strive for compassionate, convenient, high quality, efficient patient-centered care. Most of our clinical providers are in the top decile for statewide quality of care for at least one of the measures of health plans accepted. We continue to be recognized as a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Patient-Centered Medical Home.
The FHC serves as a clinical training center to first (Early Clinical Experience (ECE)) and third/fourth (Late Clinical Experience (LCE)) year CMH medical students, as well as to advance practice registered nurse CoN students. We have offered the CHM ECE students integration into our expanding quality programs for their quality improvement projects. We hope that by offering the opportunity to participate in programs striving to coordinate clinical quality improvement into national health observances and birthday wishes we will be able to improve quality of care and education through shared teamwork and shared innovation.
In 2019, we began the process of planning to combine the FHC with the family physician faculty of the MSU College of Osteopathic (COM) Department of Family and Community Medicine. We are striving to combine the best of both practices, faculty, staff, patients, and missions into a larger practice that will continue the combined missions of the colleges, departments, and practices, as we continue to provide patient-centered primary care to the socio-economically, racially, and linguistically diverse patients who, with all of our providers and staff, will comprise our new practice within the new MSU Health Care.
