For the fourth year in a row, CHOC’s four community clinics have again been designated patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
The national designation recognizes practices for their commitment to continuous quality improvement and patient-centered approach to care. CHOC’s PCMH-designated practices include CHOC Primary Clinic in Orange; CHOC Clinic, Santa Ana (at the Boys & Girls Club); CHOC Health Center, Garden Grove; and Clinica CHOC Para Niños.
PCMH-designated sites follow NCQA standards by:
- providing structure for practice leadership, care team responsibilities, and partnerships with patients, families and caregivers;
- setting standards for data collection, medication reconciliation, evidence-based clinical decision support, and other activities;
- offering patients convenient access to clinical advice and helping ensure continuity of care;
- helping clinicians set up care management protocols to identify patients who need more closely managed care;
- ensuring that primary and specialty care clinicians are effectively sharing information and managing patient referrals to minimize cost, confusion and inappropriate care; and
- developing ways to measure performance, set goals, and develop activities to improve performance.
According to the NCQA, research shows that PCMHs improve quality and the patient experience, increase staff satisfaction, and reduce health care costs.
