BURKE PRIMARY CARE EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR PATIENT-CENTERED CARE

WASHINGTON, DC (April 8, 2013) – The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today announced that Burke Primary Care of Morganton has received Recognition from the Patient-Centered Medical Home 2011 (PCMH 2011) program for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term participative relationships.

The patient-centered medical home is a model of care emphasizing care coordination and communication to transform primary care into “what patients want it to be.” Research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and improve patients’ and providers’ reported experiences of care.
“Though Burke Primary Care has been acting as a Medical Home for years, during 2012 we measured ourselves against the national standards of the NCQA and consequently earned the distinguished recognition,” said Scott Gallagher, Chief Operating Officer of Burke Primary Care. The 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. Each patient’s care is tended to by clinician-led care teams, who provide for all the patient’s health care needs and coordinate treatments across the health care system. Medical home clinicians demonstrate the benchmarks of patient-centered care, including open scheduling, expanded hours and appropriate use of proven health information systems.

“The patient-centered medical home raises the bar in defining high-quality care by emphasizing access, health information technology and partnerships between clinicians and patients,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. PCMH Recognition shows that Burke Primary Care has the tools, systems and resources to provide their patients with the right care at the right time.”

Burke Primary Care is the region’s largest and oldest primary care independent practice. Locally owned, it is a comprehensive family practice dedicated to high-quality, patient-focused healthcare.

To receive recognition, which is valid for three years, Burke Primary Care demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements embodying characteristics of the medical home. The standards are 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.

Burke Primary Care met key program components in the following areas:

• Written standards for patient access and continuity of care • Use of patient feedback materials • Appropriate use of charting tools to track patients and organize clinical information • Responsive care management techniques with an emphasis on preventive care for individual patients and for the entire patient population • Adaptation to patient’s cultural and linguistic needs • Use of information technology for prescriptions, test and referral tracking coordination with other health care providers • Use of evidence-based guidelines to treat chronic conditions • Measurement and reporting of clinical and service performance

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care 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 health care. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

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