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The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently announced that the UVA Department of Family Medicine 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. This recognition includes four of our practices:

• UVA Family Medicine Primary Care Center (Charlottesville)
• UVA Family Medicine at Crossroads (North Garden)
• UVA Family Medicine at Stoney Creek (Nellysford)
• UVA Family Medicine and Specialty Care (Crozet)

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 care treatment across the health 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 Andrew R. Lockman, MD, Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, UVA Department of Family Medicine. “It’s exciting to see all of these pieces come together as the result of collaborative problem-solving, open communication, and the engagement of all team members. Earning this recognition in four of our clinics shows that UVA Health System has the tools, systems and resources to provide our patients with the right care, at the right time.”

To earn recognition, which is valid for three years, the Department of Family Medicine demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements, embodying characteristics of the medical home. NCQA standards align 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.

The Patient Care Transformation Leadership Team includes:

• Rebekah Compton, DNP
• Amanda Nixon
• Andy Lockman, MD
• Kawai Tanabe, MPH

Please join us in congratulating these team members and clinics for their dedication to transforming the way we deliver clinical care and for seeking out new ways to provide high-quality care to our patients, families and the communities we serve.