Health care is more complex than ever, but University of Utah Health’s primary care clinics are making it easier for patients to receive high quality care. Their efforts to create Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs) were recently recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
A PCMH is a team-based health care delivery model that emphasizes access and continuity, care coordination, collaboration, and patient involvement in improving and maintaining patient health.
"Following the steps to become recognized helped us be able to better understand and positively impact the sometimes complicated issues that affect our patients ability to lead happy and healthy lives, including their mental health and social well-being," said Heather Lyman, nursing supervisor at Stansbury Health Center.
The Community Physician Group’s Julie Day, MD, Annie Mervis, Emily Carlson, and Chanda Sundara led the efforts to obtain official recognition by NCQA, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.
Their team partnered with clinicians, nursing, and clinic managers from internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics to meet a number of rigorous standards, including collecting and sharing data and achieving progress on key quality metrics.
“We’ve put an infrastructure in place that will be sustainable for many years,” Day said. “It was unprecedented and unbelievable how smooth [the review process] went.” That it was smooth is thanks to the preparation done by by the clinics and the quality team.
"Obtaining this recognition required a collaborative effort from a lot of people to demonstrate the wonderful work that our teams do every day for our patients," said Jared Wrigley, clinic manager at Parkway Health Center.
Patients have noticed the clinics’ efforts. They say that it is easier to get an appointment, they spend less time in the waiting room, they feel like the staff and providers know them, and that their experience receiving care is seamless.
“Our PCMH recognition shows a passion for patient-centered care throughout our organization and health care team,” said Brett Clayson, PA-C, Parkway Health Center’s medical director. “Your health is our focus.”
Thirteen primary care clinics received the recognition:
- Centerville Health Center
- Farmington Health Center
- Greenwood Health Center
- Madsen Family Medicine
- Parkway Health Center
- Redstone Health Center
- Redwood Health Center
- South Jordan Health Center
- South Main Health Center
- Stansbury Health Center
- Sugarhouse Family Medicine
- University Pediatric Clinic
- Westridge Health Center
The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home program reflects the input of the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and others.
“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 University of Utah Health Clinics has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”
