APICHA Medical Services Achieves Highest Level Recognition as Medical Home

We are pleased to announce that the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently awarded APICHA Medical Services Level 3 recognition as a Physician Practice Connections®[i]–Patient‐Centered Medical Home (PPC‐PCMH. Recognition is awarded from levels 1-3; APICHA has received the highest level of recognition achievable. NCQA’s Physician Recognition Programs identify practices who deliver superior care using standards firmly rooted in medical evidence.

NCQA Recognition highlights APICHA’s commitment to provide quality health care to our patients and demonstrates that we have incorporated quality improvements into the fabric of our daily lives. Our recognition status – the highest level achievable– was awarded after rigorous evaluation by NCQA on many aspects of our Medical Services practices and performance, including, Access and Communication; Patient Tracking and Registry Functions; Care Management; Patient Self‐Management Support; Electronic Prescribing; Test Tracking; Referral Tracking; Performance Reporting and Improvement; and Advanced Electronic Communications. Receiving a score above 75 qualifies a medical practice as a Level 3 medical home. APICHA received a score of 82.5.

The patient‐centered medical home 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 needed, arranges for appropriate care with other qualified physicians. A medical home also emphasizes enhanced care through scheduling, expanded hours and communication between patients, physicians and staff.

Needless to say, we are all extremely proud of this achievement, not only in terms of what it means to us, but what it means to our patients – that they can be confident in the quality of health care they receive at APICHA.

[i] Physician Practice Connections® – Patient Centered Medical Home™ is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.