1/20/2012 9:39:02 AM
Lancaster General Medical Group’s (LGMG) Roseville Pediatrics, located in Lancaster, is the third practice in Lancaster to be nationally recognized as a Medical Home.
Roseville Pediatrics joins LGMG’s Lincoln Family Medicine, in Ephrata, and Strasburg Family Medicine, in Strasburg, with this achievement in attaining status as a Physician Practice Connections-Patient Centered Medical Home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
The Medical Home concept of care for patients continues to be a growing trend across the nation. Paul Conslato, MD, Director of Clinical Affairs for LGMG, explained the Medical Home is not a house or a hospital, but an experience in which a health care team, led by a personal physician, works together to reach out to patients to make sure they are receiving continuous and coordinated care.
“The Medical Home model is proactive, not reactive. If patients don’t come knocking on our doors, we knock on theirs,” said Dr. Conslato. “Ultimately, the primary care provider tracks the patient’s progress, and the team ensures that patients receive the right care at the right time, leading them to a healthier lifestyle that should reduce the need for more intensive medical care in the future. It provides the backbone of a clinically integrated health system, focused on value of services, not just volume of services provided.”
According to Dr. Conslato, a Medical Home must demonstrate comprehensive and coordinated care. Whether the patient is a 14-year-old whose needs are preventive, or a 60-year-old with a chronic disease, there are processes in place the team follows to deliver the most appropriate care for the healthiest outcomes.
For example, by using the electronic health record, a practice identifies patients with diabetes who are overdue for a doctor’s visit. A nurse or social worker from the care management team will call the patient to identify any barriers and arrange for a doctor’s appointment. Tests may be ordered prior to the visit so results are there when the patient arrives. The team follows up with the patient after the visit, via phone or email, to make sure the patient is taking medications, for example, or to assist with any other health needs.
Medical Homes consistently treat patients according to the best available scientific evidence and the principles defined by the largest primary care groups in the country, including the American College of Physicians, The Academy of Family Physicians and the Academy of Pediatrics.
Lancaster General Medical Group, part of the Lancaster General Health system, is comprised of more than 100 physicians and specialists and more than 20 offices throughout the Lancaster County area.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the web and media in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.