Group Health’s 25 Medical Centers across Washington state recently received the highest recognition status (Level III) for Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). This award recognizes the vital role clinicians and practices play in delivering high-quality, patient-centered care that is built on evidence-based, nationally recognized clinical standards and advances quality.
The patient-centered medical home is a way of organizing primary care that emphasizes care coordination and communication to transform primary care into what patients want it to be. Medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patients’ and providers’ experience of care. NCQA’s PCMH Recognition program is the most widely adopted medical home model in the country.
“The NCQA’s 2013 PCMH Recognition standards emphasize the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication and patient involvement,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “The NCQA patient-centered medical home is a model of 21st century primary care that combines access, teamwork and technology to deliver quality care and improve health.”
This recognition shows that Group Health Medical Centers have resources to provide patients with the right care at the right time.
“We created our patient-centered medical home model to meet or exceed the needs and expectations of our patients, and to give them every opportunity to have the best possible health,” said Claire Trescott, MD, Group Health’s medical director of Primary Care Services. “It’s very rewarding for the organization to achieve this goal and earn the highest possible recognition from a prestigious national accreditation organization like NCQA.”
This three-year recognition was awarded in December 2013 and is the second time Group Health has earned the honor.
NCQA officials recently hosted a media briefing about its 2014 PCMH Recognition standards, which launch March 24 and include changes affecting the advantages and requirements. For more information, visit www.ncqa.org.
About Group Health
Group Health is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit health systems, recognized for its consumer-governed cooperative origins and innovative solutions for improving care. Established in 1947, Group Health Cooperative, together with its subsidiaries Group Health Options, Inc. and KPS Health Plans, provides health coverage to more than 603,000 residents of Washington state. More than 403,000 members receive care from the Group Health Physicians medical group at Group Health Medical Centers located across the Puget Sound region and Spokane. Group Health advances health in the community through its medical education, charitable foundation, and nationally recognized research institute. For more information about Group Health, visit www.ghc.org. And to learn how Group Health is delivering better health care every day, visit www.ghinnovates.org.