Medical Group Practice at WVU Medicine Physician Office Center earns national recognition for patient-centered care
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has announced that the Medical Group Practice at the WVU Medicine Physician Office Center has received Level 3 NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition, the highest level possible, for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long‐term, participative relationships.
“The PCMH team at Medical Group Practice worked very hard over the past two years to enhance and transform our practice to better serve our patients. We could not have achieved this recognition without the hard work of our nursing staff, our Internal Medicine and Internal Medicine/Pediatrics resident physicians, and our faculty physicians,” Kelley Gannon, M.D., who led the Medical Group Practice PCMH initiative, said. “I was fortunate enough to work with Amber Shaffer, ambulatory services manager, and Andrea Poillucci, clinical nurse coordinator, to make this project come to fruition – without these two, our practice could not have achieved its Level 3 NCQA recognition. Having a great team is imperative to the PCMH process, and I am fortunate to have the hardest working group around.”
The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of primary care that combines teamwork and information technology to improve care, improve patients’ experience of care, and reduce costs. Medical homes foster ongoing partnerships between patients and their personal clinicians, instead of approaching care as the sum of episodic office visits. Each patient’s care is overseen by clinician-led care teams that coordinate treatment across the healthcare system. Research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs and can improve patient and provider reported experiences of care.
“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 the WVU Medicine Medical Group Practice has the tools, systems, and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”
To earn recognition, which is valid for three years, the Medical Group Practice demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements, embodying characteristics of the medical home. NCQA standards aligned with the joint principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home established with the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Osteopathic Association.
With the addition of the Medical Group Practice, a total of five WVU Medicine clinics have received NCQA recognition. The other four are Harpers Ferry Family Medicine in the Eastern Panhandle, Shinnston Family Medicine in Harrison County, the Sleeth Family Medicine Center in Morgantown, and the United Hospital Center Family Medicine Center in Bridgeport.
To find clinicians and their practices with NCQA PCMH Recognition, visit http://recognition.ncqa.org.
About NCQA
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of healthcare 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 healthcare. NCQA’s Web site (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers, and others make more informed healthcare choices.