Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2022 Sep 1;28(9):1420-1429. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izab238.

Hilary K Michel ^1 2, Brendan Boyle ^1 2, Jennie David ³, Amy Donegan ^1 2, Barb Drobnic ¹, Courtney Kren ¹, Ross M Maltz ^1 2 4, Hannah N McKillop ^2 3, Megan McNicol ⁵, Melanie Oates ¹, Jennifer L Dotson ^1 2 6

Author information

¹Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.

²Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.

³Division of Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.

⁴The Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, The Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.

⁵Department of Pharmacy, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus OH, USA.

⁶The Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice, The Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.

Abstract

Care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be complex and costly. Care delivery models to address these challenges and improve care quality are essential. The patient-centered medical home (PCMH), which was developed in the primary care setting, has recently been applied successfully to the adult IBD population. Following the tenets of the PCMH, this specialty medical home (SMH) emphasizes team-based care that is accessible, comprehensive, patient/family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and continuous and has demonstrated improved patient outcomes. Children and young adults with IBD have equally complex care needs, with additional challenges not faced by the adult population such as growth, physical and psychosocial development, and transition of care from pediatric to adult providers. Thus, we advocate that the components of the PCMH are equally-if not more-important in caring for the pediatric patient population. In this article, we review what is known about the application of the PCMH model in adult IBD care, describe care delivery within the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent IBD at Nationwide Children's Hospital as an example of a pediatric IBD medical home, and propose a research agenda to further the development and dissemination of comprehensive care delivery for children and adolescents with IBD.