(1) The Legislature makes the following findings:

(a) There are patient programs that provide a whole-person orientation that includes care for all stages of life, including acute care, chronic care, preventive services and end-of-life care;

(b) A patient-centered medical home must have Health Information Exchange compliant records, electronically integrated with electronic patient health records, and use practice-based disease management applications to facilitate and measure quality of care at the point of care;

(c) A patient in a patient-centered medical home actively participates in health care decision making, and feedback from the patient is sought to ensure that the expectations of the patient are being met;

(d) Care in a patient-centered medical home is coordinated across all elements of the health care system and the patient’s community to assure that the patient receives the indicated care when and where the patient needs the care in a culturally appropriate manner;

(e) Multiple studies have demonstrated that when minorities have a medical home, racial and ethnic disparities in terms of medical access disappear and the costs of health care decrease;

(f) The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and the American Osteopathic Association, representing more than three hundred thirty thousand (330,000) physicians across the country, have developed Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home that describe the characteristics of the patient-centered medical home;

(g) The National Committee for Quality Assurance is developing a patient-centered medical home designation program for physician practices that meets specified criteria; and

(h) The Federal Tax Relief and Health Care Act calls for a three-year medical home demonstration project to be conducted in eight (8) states.

(2) The State Board of Health shall adopt guidelines applicable to physician practices, nurse practitioner practices and physician assistant practices in Mississippi that incorporate the principles of the patient-centered medical home, using all resources available to the board.