KEYSTONE HEALTH EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION
FOR PATIENT-CENTERED CARE
NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home™ standards emphasize enhanced care through patient-clinician partnership
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced that Keystone Health of Chambersburg has received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long‐term, participative relationships. Keystone Pediatrics, Keystone Internal Medicine, Keystone Family Medicine and Keystone HIV/STD Services are all recognized as NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home sites.
The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of primary care that combines teamwork and information technology to improve care, improve patients’ experience of care and reduce costs. Medical homes foster ongoing partnerships between patients and their personal clinicians, instead of approaching care as the sum of episodic office visits. Each patient’s care is overseen by clinician-led care teams that coordinate treatment across the health care system. Research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patient and provider reported experiences of care.
“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 Keystone Health has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”
To earn recognition, which is valid for three years, Keystone Health demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements, embodying characteristics of the medical home. NCQA standards 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.
Dr. Michael Colli, Chief Medical Officer at Keystone Health said, “The process of obtaining NCQA PCMH level 3 certification has been transformative for our organization. In order to achieve this certification, we evaluated and re-engineered all of our organizational standards and processes to ensure that they truly meet the needs of our patients. As a result, we believe that we can offer a patient experience that is second to none. Keystone Health has always provided unbiased, compassionate patient care to this community, regardless of ability to pay. By attaining NCQA PCMH certification, we now have raised our own bar and deliver the highest quality healthcare around and really listen to our patients and how they want healthcare delivered in the 21st century. As the only NCQA PCMH certified organization in Franklin County, we are well-positioned to be the primary care provider of choice for our community.”
To find clinicians and their practices with NCQA PCMH Recognition, visit NCQA PCMH Recognition Website.
