PCMH recognizes primary care practices with a team-based health care delivery model that provide comprehensive care to patients and are dedicated to continuous quality improvement for health outcomes. Designated practices put patients at the forefront and create strong relationships between patients and their clinical care teams.

UofL Physicians – General Pediatrics has clinics at the Novak Center for Children’s Health in downtown, Sam Swope Kosair Charities Centre on Eastern Parkway and on Stonestreet Road in southwest Louisville.

“Following the PCMH model provides a very structured way to deliver coordinated care,” said Amanda Cagle, RN, practice manager for Downtown and Stonestreet sites. “It provides a high level of standardization throughout all three clinics, which follow the same policies and procedures. We are continuously monitoring different aspects of patient care in order to improve the care we deliver to our patients.”

Research shows that PCMHs improve quality, the patient experience and staff satisfaction while reducing health care costs, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

A requirement of earning PCMH designation is using care coordination, the intentional organization of patient care among providers working with a particular patient to provide optimum health services. Through care coordination, providers share important clinical information, work together to keep patients and their families informed and ensure that effective referrals take place.

“We’ve changed policies, procedures and day-to-day functioning to accommodate patients in every way we can,” said Melissa Hancock, MD, UofL division director of general pediatrics. “All of our providers and staff are invested in our patients’ primary care. This is where they’re going to get their comprehensive health care needs met.”

“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 UofL Physicians Family & Geriatric Medicine has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”

Earning the NCQA’s Level 3 designation – the highest recognition level – is a significant accomplishment, says Jonathan Becker, MD, chair of the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine.

“We strive to make sure each patient experiences continuity of care and a team-based approach to care – it’s the way medicine is supposed to be practiced,” Becker said.

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.

At UofL Physicians Family & Geriatric Medicine practices, patients experience access to not only physicians, but also a social worker, chronic care nurse, nutritionist and marriage and family therapist, a team that can provide a holistic approach to care.

Anne Banks, PhD, compiles data for the NCQA application. She says UofL Physicians Family & Geriatric Medicine practices are making continual improvements to better serve patients.

She says such changes as keeping a number of appointments open each day for those who need immediate care has prevented emergency room visits for something that could be treated in the office. Patients also have greater continuity in seeing the same doctor, as opposed to a different physician each visit. And, Banks says registered nurse case managers are reviewing patient charts periodically to assure individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes are appropriately tracked and seen in a timely manner.

“We are striving to break-down all barriers to great care,” Banks said. “Empathy and commitment to the patient should resonate throughout the practice – from the front-desk all the way through to physician interactions.”