Designated Patient Centered Medical Home by National Committee on Quality Assurance
Vivent Health is the first community-based health care clinic in Wisconsin to gain official recognition by the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its commitment to high quality medical care. The recognition specifies Vivent Health as a patient-centered medical home for its more than 1,200 HIV medical patients.
“NCQA recognition of the Vivent Health is an affirmation of the unique and high quality integrated health and social services that we provide to our patients,” President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Gifford said. “Medical homes are quickly becoming the gold standard in health care to assure that patient needs are comprehensively addressed and that care is closely coordinated to help assure the best clinical outcomes.”
The Physician Practice Connections© — Patient Centered Medical Home™ program reflects the input of the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Osteopathic Association and other professional organizations. It was developed to assess whether physician practices are functioning as medical homes and recognize them for these efforts. Patient Centered Medical Home standards emphasize the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication and patient involvement.
“The patient-centered medical home promises to improve health and health care,” NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane said. “The active, ongoing relationship between a patient and a physician in medical homes fosters an all-too-rare goal in care: staying healthy and preventing illness in the first place. The Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition shows that Vivent Health has tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care at the right time.”
In total, more than 1,600 HIV patients receive integrated medical, dental, mental health and pharmacy care at Vivent Health and have access to food pantries, housing, legal services and social work case management all of which are designed to improve prospects for HIV treatment success.
“We have always been proud of being Wisconsin’s largest provider of HIV health care, but we are even more proud of being recognized for the high quality of care we provide,” said Gifford.
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality and accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It is governed by a board of directors that includes employers, consumer and labor representatives, health plans, quality experts and representatives from organized medicine.