Summary: Primary care and the patient-centered medical home offer a great opportunity for health coaches to become allies with patients in improvement of their health, notes William Appelgate, executive director of the Iowa Chronic Care Consortium. Individuals with the highest health risks should be given priority, but those on the cusp of a serious health event also merit coaching assistance, he says. For providers new to the coaching conversation, Appelgate shares three benefits of incorporating health coaches in the care process --- including the upping of their 'outcomes game.' Bill Appelgate and Alicia Vail, RN health coach for Ochsner Health System, shared how an evidence-based health coaching focus drives returns in a value-based payment delivery system during a June 19, 2013 webinar, "Health Coaching's Value in Accountable Care and Medical Homes."
