Patient-Centered Medical Home
 Carolinas Coastal Health is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a Patient- Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Designated in May 2010, our practice is the first recognized PCMH in our area and one of four such designated practices east of Raleigh.
The Patient-Centered Medical Home is a health care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients and their personal physicians. When appropriate, this includes the patient's family. Care is facilitated by registries, information technology, health information exchange and other means to assure that patients get the indicated care when and where they need and want it, in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
The PCMH is a model for care provided by physician practices that seeks to strengthen the physician-patient relationship by replacing episodic care based on illnesses and patient complaints, with coordinated care and a long-term, healing relationship.
The American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association have jointly defined the medical home as a model of care where each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician who leads a team that takes collective responsibility for patient care. The physician-led care team is responsible for providing all the patient's health care needs and, when necessary, arranges for appropriate care with other qualified physicians. A medical home also emphasizes enhanced care through use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care management processes, open scheduling, expanded hours and communication between patients, physicians and staff.
Background
The National Committee for Quality Assurance's Physician Recognition program identifies physicians who deliver superior care using standards firmly rooted in medical evidence. To date, nearly 10,000 physicians nationwide have been recognized by NCQA in the areas of diabetes, cardiovascular and back pain care, and practices that systematically provide preventive and chronic care.
The Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of care that holds significant promise for better health care quality, improved involvement of patients in their own care, and reduced costs over time.
There are nine standards, including 10 must-pass elements. Practices seeking PCMH complete a Web-based data collection tool and provide documentation that validates responses.
|
