These outpatient practices achieved Level 3 recognition, which means they meet the highest level of patient-focused, coordinated care

Five additional offices of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians (JHCP) are now recognized as Patient-Centered Medical Homes by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private, non-profit national organization that accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. That brings to 10 the number of JHCP sites that have met strict criteria for providing the highest quality, patient-centered care.

All of the JHCP sites that applied for the designation have received it, at the highest level, known as Level 3, which requires a score of 85 out of 100. The newly recognized sites, located in Frederick, Glen Burnie, Charles County, Annapolis and Odenton, all received a score of 97.75. The JHCP facilities at Canton Crossing, Hagerstown, Montgomery County, Water’s Edge and Wyman Park were recognized last year.

"These high scores reflect the dedication of the physicians, nurses and administrative staff at each location to providing the best care for their patients," says Steven J. Kravet, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.P., president of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. "I congratulate them all for their hard work to make this possible."

The JHCP locations met strenuous criteria in six must-pass categories, such as effective communication among patients and caregivers, superior use of technology and data, and exceptional teamwork. The recognition is good for three years.

According to the NCQA, the patient-centered medical home is a model that emphasizes care coordination and communication to transform primary care into what patients want it to be - a partnership between patients and their doctors. Patient-centered medical homes follow high standards for patient access and continuity of care, use evidence-based guidelines to treat chronic conditions and focus on prevention and wellness. Such facilities use information technology for ordering and tracking prescriptions and test results and usually have expanded hours.

Kravet says the patient-centered medical home model may be a way to help ease the anticipated shortage of primary care physicians needed to serve increasing numbers of people who will gain insurance coverage due to the Affordable Care Act. "This model fulfills the intention of the new health care law to increase access to primary care and to identify and provide more proactive care to patients who are at risk because of serious, chronic conditions," says Kravet. "As our society moves forward, we will need more innovative, high-quality, provider-driven primary care practices, such as those recognized by the NCQA," he says. 

For more information:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/community_physicians

http://www.ncqa.org/Programs/Recognition/PatientCenteredMedicalHomePCMH.aspx