Buffalo Medical Group recognized by NCQA as Patient-Centered Medical Home

By Jeffrey Johns | January 5 2024 | Uncategorized

The Buffalo Medical Group has earned the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) designation as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). 

The NCQA’s Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition program was developed to identify medical practices that have invested in a model of care that puts patients at the forefront and where continuous quality improvement is a priority.   

There are the six key criteria for patient-centered medical home accreditation including: 

• Team Based Care and Practice Organization: Practices are evaluated on leadership structure, care team responsibilities, how they engage with patients, families and caregivers.  
• Care Management and Support: Practice clinicians use care management protocols to help them identify patients who need closely managed care.  
• Know and Manage Patients: Practices must meet standards for data collection, medication reconciliation and evidence-based clinical decision support.  
• Care Coordination and Care Transitions: Practices ensure that primary and specialty care clinicians share information and manage patient referrals.  
• Patient-Centered Access and Continuity: Practices provide patients with convenient access to clinical advice and continuity of care.  
• Performance Measurement and Quality Improvement: Practices have processes for measuring their performance and for quality improvement activities.  

How this designation benefits BMG patients 

The PCMH model emphasizes care coordination, population health, evidence-based guidelines and effective use of health information technology (HIT) to meet the patient’s needs. 

PCMH model helps practices: 

• Improve patient-centered access and the patient experience.  
• Perform comprehensive health assessments to identify patient needs.  
• Deliver better preventive care such as immunizations and cancer screenings.  
• Prioritize comprehensive care management to keep chronic conditions under control.  
• Coordinate with other clinicians involved in patient care and close referral loops to improve continuity and avoid gaps in care.  
• Identify patients who require recommended interventions and patients who need medication monitoring.