Wake Internal Medicine Consultants has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for our dedication to sustaining our Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition.
What is PCMH?
The patient-centered medical home is a model of care that puts patients at the forefront of care. PCMHs build better relationships between patients and their clinical care teams.
Research shows that PCMHs improve quality and the patient experience, and increase staff satisfaction—while reducing health care costs. Practices that earn recognition have made a commitment to continuous quality improvement and a patient-centered approach to care.
NCQA’s Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition program is the most widely adopted PCMH evaluation program in the country. Approximately 13,000 practices (with 67,000 clinicians) are recognized by NCQA. More than 95 organizations support NCQA Recognition through providing financial incentives, transformation support, care management, learning collaboratives, or MOC credit.
Why PCMH?
Reduce Fragmentation and Improve Quality
- The PCMH model emphasizes team-based care, communication, and coordination, which has been shown to lead to better care.
- Higher rates of fragmentation are associated with higher costs, lower quality, and higher rates of preventable hospitalizations.
Align With Payers
Many payers acknowledge PCMH Recognition as a hallmark of high-quality care.
Earning NCQA PCMH Recognition means you are providing patient-centered care that is associated with higher quality, better patient satisfaction, and a reduction in avoidable, costly visits to the ED and hospital.
Improve Staff Satisfaction
The PCMH model is associated with better staff satisfaction. One analysis found the implementation of NCQA PCMH Recognition to increase staff work satisfaction while reported staff burnout decreased by more than 20%.
Improve Patient Experience
A Hartford Foundation study found that the PCMH model resulted in a better experience for patients, with 83% of patients saying being treated in a PCMH improved health.
Better Manage Chronic Conditions
The PCMH model has been shown to help better manage patients’ chronic conditions, such as diabetes.
One study found patients with diabetes had higher-quality treatment than those not in an NCQA-Recognized PCMH. The quality measurements showed:
- 4.2 – 8.3% better on HbA1c testing.
- 4.3 – 8.5% better on LDL-C testing.
- 15.5 – 21.5% better on nephropathy monitoring.
- 9.7 – 15.5% better on eye examinations.
Align With State/Federal Initiatives
As more emphasis is placed on value-based care, many state and Federal programs are embracing the patient-centered model of care.
- MACRA rewards clinicians who earn NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) and Patient-Centered Specialty Practices (PCSP) Recognition.
- 29 public sector initiatives in 25 states require the use of NCQA PCMH Recognition as part of the medical home initiative.
- States like Tennessee and New York are adopting PCMH Recognition to help improve the overall quality of care in their states. Learn more.
Lower Health Care Costs
Research shows NCQA PCMH Recognition improves patient care and reduces costs.
- One pilot program showed a 9.3% reduction in emergency department utilization (resulting in approx. $5 million in savings per year) and a 10.3% reduction in ambulatory-care-sensitive inpatient admissions for patients with two or more comorbidities.
- Another study found PCMH Recognition was associated with $265 lower average annual total Medicare spending per beneficiary (4.9%), lower hospital spending, and fewer emergency department visits (55 fewer visits per 1000 beneficiaries for all causes).
Improve Patient-Centered Access
PCMHs emphasize the use of health information technology and after-hours access to improve overall access to care when and where patients need it.
- One study found PCMH practices rapidly increase office visits relative to non-patient-centered clinics, with 163 more office visits per 1,000 members per year.
Another study found PCMHs patients had 77.5 more primary care visits and 17.3 fewer ambulatory-care sensitive specialist visits per 1,000 patients per month.
