WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) launched its newest evaluation program, Patient-Centered Connected Care™ Recognition. The program responds to the growing number of choices available to consumers selecting care beyond a traditional primary care physician.
Patient-Centered Connected Care™ recognizes ambulatory care providers that communicate and connect with primary care providers as they deliver care to shared patients. As more Americans receive care in nontraditional settings—retail-based clinics, urgent care centers, onsite employee health and school-based clinics—coordination of care often suffers.
Value is important in the health care system. Payers and states are increasingly rewarding practitioners who provide improved patient care and cost savings. The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care—one in which care is centrally coordinated and tracked by one primary care provider—has become the standard by which primary care can achieve better patient care and lower costs.
The Patient-Centered Connected Care Recognition Program aligns with that model. It creates a roadmap for how sites delivering intermittent or outpatient treatment—but do not act as a primary care provider for a majority of its patients—can fit into the medical home neighborhood. Sites that demonstrate they follow NCQA Patient-Centered Connected Care standards are positioned to earn an NCQA seal.
“I commend organizations who adopt this model,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Patient-Centered Connected Care Recognition is a giant leap to reform health care delivery because it includes ambulatory care settings as well as other medical providers outside of primary and specialty care in the connected and coordinated care community.”
Program Requirements
Sites that meet the following standards can earn the NCQA seal:
- Connecting With Primary Care: The site connects with and shares information with primary care providers.
- Identifying Patient Needs: The site directs patients to appropriate providers, when necessary.
- Patient Care and Support: The site uses evidence-based decision support in care delivery, collaborates with patients to make care decisions and delivers culturally and linguistically appropriate services.
- System Capabilities: The site uses electronic systems to collect data and execute tasks.
- Measure and Improve Performance: The site systematically monitors performance and carries out activities to improve clinical outcomes and patient experience.
Learn more about the program here or call 202-609-8346.
Already, 35 organizations representing 76 ambulatory care sites across 23 states are pursuing NCQA Patient-Centered Connected Care Recognition. They have committed to complete the program requirements by January 31, 2016. They include: Affinity Health Group, LLC dba Affinity Health Management Center; Alcester Chiropractic*; Arkfeld Advanced Chiropractic, LLC*; Best Practices Academy; Brookings Chiropractic Center*; CVFP Immediate Care Division; Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin; Cigna Corporation; CityMD; Coram-Selden Chiropractic; CoxHealth; Dr. Roger D. Prill Jr & Dr. Craig A. Pickart*; Dr. Elizabeth C. McMunn, OD; First Chiropractic Center (FCC)*; Fogel Chiropractic Clinics*; Foot and Ankle Specialists of the Mid-Atlantic; Forest Hill Rehabilitation Center; Greater Lawrence Family Health Center SBHCs; Immediate Care of Southern New Hampshire; InterMed, P.A.; Konstant Chiropractic Clinic*; Madison Chiropractic Center, PC*; MEDCare Urgent Care; Mitchell Chiropractic & Acupuncture Center, PC*; Northeast GA Physician Group; PM Pediatrics; Prevea Health; Sandia National Laboratories Health, Benefits & Employee Services; Summit Orthopedic Home Care; Watson Clinic; Urban Health Plan SBHC; WellSpan Medical Group; Whittier Street Health Center; Yalich Clinic
*Engaged through Best Practices Academy, LLC
About NCQA
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. For over 25 years, NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA’s Web site (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.
HEDIS® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
