Receives Highest Level Possible from National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)

People Inc., Western New York's leading non-profit human services agency, announced today that its Elmwood Health Center in Buffalo has been certified at the highest level possible by the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Patient-Centered Medical Home program.

Elmwood Health Center was recognized by the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program for “using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term participative relationships.” It was certified at Level 3, PCMH by NCQA.

“We are very pleased and honored to receive national recognition for what we do at Elmwood Health Center in coordinating care and communication into a transformational primary care model of what patients want care to be,” said Rhonda Frederick, chief operating officer for People Inc. “It’s a credit to our entire Elmwood Health Center team.”

Located at 2128 Elmwood Ave., the Elmwood Health Center provides a wide range of medical, rehabilitative therapies and counseling services for individuals of all ages as well as specially designed services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Among these services are adult and pediatric primary health care, audiology, podiatry, mental health counseling services gynecology, neurology, occupational, physical and speech therapies, and support groups.

“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. “PSMH recognition shows Elmwood Health Center has the tools, systems and resources to provide their patients with the right care at the right time.”

To receive recognition, which is valid for three years, Elmwood Health Center demonstrated the ability to meet the PCMH program’s key elements embodying characteristics of the medical home. The standards are aligned with the joint principles of the PCMH established with the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association.

Elmwood Health Center met key PCMH program components in these specific areas:

• Written standards for patient access and contnuity 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 preventative 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 and coordination with other health care providers
• Use of evidence-based guidelines to treat chronic conditions
• Measurement and reporting of clinical and service performance

According to NCQA, research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and improve patients’ and providers’ reported experiences of 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.

NCQA says medical home clinicians demonstrate the benchmarks of patient-centered care, including open scheduling, expanded hours and appropriate use of proven health information systems.

About NCQA

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.

About People Inc.

People Inc. is a not-for-profit health and human services agency providing programs and services to more than 12,000 people with special needs, their families, and seniors throughout Western New York. Since 1971, People Inc. has assisted individuals to achieve greater degrees of independence and productivity.