Health Care Homes
Patient Information
Primary Care Clinics That Put You First
If you are looking for a primary care clinic, we hope you will consider a health-care-home-certified clinic. What you will find at these clinics is high quality care based on your needs and preferences. You will be part of a team of people, including your doctor, who will work together to ensure your health and wellbeing. Health-care-home-certified clinics can be found throughout Minnesota and are not tied to any one health system.
What is a health care home?
A health care home is a patient’s home for health care, the first place you should turn to for your health care needs. Health care homes provide a base for health care that helps patients navigate the health care system and coordinates their care. Health care homes are NOT health care in your home or a place to live.
There are three progressive levels of certification: Foundational Level, Level 2 and Level 3.
How can I help you?
This is the question that starts the conversation with every patient in a health-care-home clinic. The idea is for the patient to identify and agree on one thing to work on. It may not be the provider's number one goal for the patient, but it is one the patient is invested in. “What they want is what we want."
- Foundational Level: A health care home is a primary care clinic or clinician certified by the Minnesota Department of Health to coordinate care among the primary care team, specialists, and community partners to ensure patient-centered, whole-person care and improve total health and wellbeing.
- Level 2: A health care home that progresses to Level 2 certification meets the Foundational Level requirements while also expanding patient access to needed services and connecting to community resources that support wellbeing and quality of life.
- Level 3: A health care home awarded certification at Level 3 by the Minnesota Department of Health meets all the requirements of Foundational Level and Level 2, while expanding focus to include community population health. The emphasis is on participating and sharing responsibility in community-based health improvement efforts.
Health care home terms for you to know
A patient with diabetes came into his health-care-home clinic for a routine office visit. When the patient shared that his wife had recently died, the conversation shifted to how he was doing rather than what he was eating. The provider stated, “I may have an idea of what an appointment is about, but I remain 100% open to what my patient needs. That is what our practice and our team is all about.”
- Patient-centered: tailored to your needs, so you can access care when and where you need it, and where you are honored and respected.
- Team-based: each patient in a health care home is supported by a team of people working with you to set goals and manage your care. The most important member of the team is YOU! The team strives to meet your needs and preferences and to include you as a full participant in your care.
- Coordinated: patients in a health-care-home clinic have help coordinating their care, so that everybody who is part of their care – including specialists and community services, inside and outside the clinic – is on the same page and working together.
What are the benefits of a health care home?
A health care home makes managing your health care easier. It helps you address your health challenges and to find resources to help manage your health.
When COVID first arrived in Minnesota, all testing and vaccinations required online registration. There were no options for individuals to call and get scheduled. The team's administrator recognized that many patients were elderly, at high risk of COVID-19 complications, and without access to the internet. She contacted each patient and offered to schedule their vaccination for them.
Does choosing a health-care-home clinic cost more?
There is no extra cost to choosing a health-care-home-certified clinic.
How do I find a health-care-home clinic?
Health-care-home clinics are located throughout Minnesota and in parts of North Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Access a map or list of Health Care Home clinics.