Epilepsy Resources for Health Care Professionals: Care Coordination

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), care coordination involves the "deliberate organization of patient care activities between two or more participants (including the patient) involved in a patient's care to facilitate the appropriate delivery of health care services." Care coordination is a key component of a patient/family-centered medical home and is essential for developing partnerships across health care settings, education and childcare, social services and community organizations.

Children and youth with epilepsy (CYE) are at higher risk for developmental, intellectual and mental health comorbidities requiring complex, coordinated systems of primary and specialty care. It is estimated that the number of pediatric neurologists is 20% below the national need, and many CYE, particularly those in rural and medically underserved areas, do not have access to high-quality coordinated care provided by a medical home. Building access to a medical home and increasing the knowledge, capacity and skill sets of PCPs in diagnosing, treating and supporting CYE is necessary and critical in ensuring patient access to ongoing, high-quality care.

Additional Resources

For more details, check out these helpful resources:

• AAP: Care Coordination Resources
• AAP: Guiding Principles for Team-Based Pediatric Care
• AAP National Resource Center for Patient/Family-Centered Medical Home
• AAP News: Using a Team-Based Approach to Improve Care Coordination
• AAP: Patient- and Family-Centered Care Coordination: A Framework for Integrating Care for Children and Youth across Multiple Systems
• BCH and NRC-PFCMH: Pediatric Care Coordination Curriculum
• NRC-PFCMH: Care Coordination