Total Patient Care: Five NMCP Clinics Earn Top 'Level 3' Recognition

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- Naval Medical Center Portsmouth announced April 2 that five of its clinics were certified as Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home status by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in the last two months, the highest level they can achieve.

By documenting they provide total patient care, the Family Practice Medical Home Ports (MHPs) at the branch health clinics (BHC) at Naval Air Station Oceana, Joint Base-Little Creek and Naval Station Norfolk earned this recognition.

At NMCP, the Pediatrics and Family Medicine clinics, and Medical Home Port clinics also earned the Level 3 recognition.

The status is in effect for three years before the clinics must reapply. They join the Pediatric Medical Home Port at the Little Creek clinic, which attained Level 3 status a year ago. Another six clinics at NMCP -at area BHCs, TRICARE Prime clinics and Internal Medicine - will apply for Level 3 certification later this year.

The Medical Home Port program streamlines patient care using a team approach to provide comprehensive and integrated care. Patients receive continuity of care from a team of health care providers. They proactively engage in their patients' health care and engage the patient in their health care needs. The Home Port model focuses not only on the care, but also the relationship and trust that grows between the health care team and the patient.

"Medical home is like an old-style family doctor's office, but with a whole team of professionals," said Leanne M. Slagle, department head for Primary Care at BHC Little Creek, who submitted the application for her clinic and oversaw the process for the other four.

"This model gives the patients more one-on-one time with the physician or the team," Slagle said. "It encourages the team to know their patient population, and it really focuses on preventative care and empowers the patient to become more actively involved. Overall, it has been shown an improvement in health outcomes and helps to control cost."

NCQA awards three levels of recognition. To achieve Level 1, practices must successfully comply with at least five elements. Achieving levels 2 and 3 depends on the clinic's score plus complying with 10 must-pass elements.

The nine standard categories and 10 must-pass elements require clinics to track patients and coordinate care; enhance access and communication; measure and improve performance; identify and manage patient populations; plan and manage care; and provide self-care support and community resources.

With the lengthy application process, each clinic was required to submit about 500 pages of documentation, which took some clinics up to nine months to gather.

Poteet said that ensuring a clinic can meet the Level 3 certification helps hold the clinic accountable to that standard of care.

"Every clinic thinks they provide outstanding care. However, it is in proving that care that one finds the gaps and then works to resolve them," Poteet said. "My staff has spent hundreds if not thousands of hours now proving that not only to the patients, but to the people who recognize it at the national level. NCQA has helped guide the way to be an effective medical home, but it is only in collaboration with the patient that we may do so."

Slagle agreed, adding that putting the processes in place and maintaining them is what guides her clinic to continually provide the highest standard of care.

"By maintaining this highest level of recognition, we can easily show the quality of care that we give daily," Slagle said. "We put those processes in place and maintain them, and then sometimes have to try new ideas when the first one fails. A great example is what we are doing to decrease our no-show rate."
The Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery launched the MHP program in 2010. The care model began at NMCP in March that year in two clinics - NMCP's Family Medicine and the Pediatrics Clinic at Little Creel - and was then implemented in the other clinics later in 2010 and in 2011.

NCQA is a private, 501©(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality in the U.S. Since its founding in 1900, NCQA has been a central figure in driving improvement throughout the health care system, helping to elevate the issue of health care quality to the top of the national agenda.


For more news from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, visit www.navy.mil/local/NMCP/.