“NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition raises the bar in defining high-quality care by emphasizing access, health information technology and coordinated care focused on patients,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Recognition shows that Family Care, PA has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”
Family Care has earned NCQA’s PCMH Level 3 Recognition
On December 28, 2017, Family Care earned a Level 3 PCMH Recognition, the highest possible level of NCQA recognition. We are extremely proud of the accomplishment and greatly appreciate the contributions all of our employees to help our office earn this award. Fulfilling the requirements for the award was a tedious, yet rewarding, year-long process and we developed better methods to help our patients along the way. We think earning our PCMH Recognition has enabled us improve the care we offer our patients, which is always our goal.
We always want our patients to be confident that the services they receive at our office follow the best, most up-to-date standards in the industry. We have always believed we provided high quality primary care, but now we have a shiny new award to prove it!
What is NCQA?
The National Center for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Seal is a widely recognized symbol of healthcare quality. Accredited providers face a rigorous set of more than 60 standards and must report on their performance in more than 40 areas in order to earn NCQA’s seal of approval. For consumers and employers, the seal is a reliable indicator that an organization is well-managed and delivers high quality care and service.
NCQA Recognition Programs empower employers, health plans, patients and consumers to make informed heath care decisions based on quality. Participation in a NCQA Recognition Program demonstrates that the practice or clinician values quality health care delivery and the latest clinical protocols to ensure that patients receive the best care at the right time.
What is PCMH?
The Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of care that puts patients at the forefront of care. PCMH providers build better relationships between people and their clinical care teams. For Primary Care Providers, recognition through NCQA’s Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Program is the highest standard in the industry.
Research shows that patient-centered medical homes:
- Improve Quality: Patients get the treatment that they need, when they need it.
- Reduce costs: They prevent expensive and avoidable hospitalizations, emergency room visits and complications. This is especially true for patients with complex chronic conditions.
- Improve the patient experience: They provide the personalized, comprehensive coordinated care that patients want.
- Improve staff satisfaction: PCMHs have systems and structures that help staff work more efficiently.
The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home program reflects the input of the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and others. It was developed to assess whether clinician practices are functioning as medical homes and recognize them for these efforts. The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home standards emphasize the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication and patient involvement.