Phoebe Primary Care at Northwest receives recognition from National Committee for Quality Assurance

ALBANY — Phoebe Primary Care at Northwest has received Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that officials say focus on highly coordinated care and long-term, participative relationships.

Phoebe officials said the clinic earned Level 3 recognition, the highest level. The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of primary care, combining 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 treatment across the health care system.

Officials said research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality, lower costs, and improve patient- and provider-reported experiences of care. To earn recognition, which is valid for three years, Phoebe Primary Care at Northwest demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements.

NCQA standards align with the joint principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home established with the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Osteopathic Association.