WASHINGTON, DC — The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced that Santa Cruz Community Health Centers (SCCHC) has received Level 3 NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition (the highest rank possible) for the next three years.
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. Clinician-led care teams that coordinate treatment across the health care system oversee each patient’s 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 NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Recognition shows that SCCHC has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”
SCCHC demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements, embodying characteristics of the medical home. NCQA standards aligned 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.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality by accrediting and certifying a wide range of health care organizations. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. Its Website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.