Wednesday, Jul. 04, 2012

MACH earns recognition for patient-centered care

Martin Army Community Hospital recently received recognition from the Physician Practice Connections-Patient-Centered Medical Home program for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on coordinated care and long-term participative relationships.

“The patient-centered medical home is a promising model of health care delivery that aims to improve the quality and efficiency of care,” said Lt. Col. Mario Caycedo, chief, Family Medical Home.

PPC-PCMH identifies practices that promote partnerships between individual patients and their personal clinicians, instead of treating patient care as the sum of several episodic office visits.

Clinician-led care teams, who provide for all the patient’s health care needs and coordinate treatments across the health-care system, tend to each patient’s care.

Medical home clinicians demonstrate the benchmarks of patient-centered care, including open scheduling, expanded hours and appropriate use of proven health information systems. Early evaluations of the PPC-PCMH have shown promising results in improving care quality and lowering costs. By avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits, early results are producing savings for payers, purchasers and patients.

“The patient-centered medical home promised to improve health and health care,” National Committe for Quality Assurance President Margaret O’Kane said. “The active, ongoing relationship between a patient and a clinician in medical homes fosters an all-too-rare goal in care; staying healthy and preventing illness in the first place. PPC-PCMH Recognition shows that Martin Army Community Hospital has tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care at the right time.”

Key components met by MACH:

• Written standards for patient access and enhanced communication

• Appropriate use of charting tools to track patients and organize clinical information

• Responsive care-management techniques with an emphasis on preventive care

• Adaption to patient cultural and linguistic needs

• Use of information technology for prescriptions and care management

• Use of evidence-based guidelines to treat chronic conditions

• Systematic tracking of referrals and test results

• Measurement and reporting of clinical and service performance