The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private, non-profit organization that accredits and certifies a wide-range of health care organizations, recently announced that twelve Lourdes Medical Associates (LMA) practices have received recognition from the Physician Practice Connections Patient-Centered Medical Home program (PPC-PCMH), a program emphasizing the systematic use of patient-centered, coordinated care management processes. This distinction puts them among a select group of practices in the nation and only a few in the state of New Jersey.

The twelve LMA practices recognized include Browns Mills Medical Services, Burlington Family Medical Center, Cherry Hill Family Care, Eves Medical Practice, Family Practice of Burlington, Haddonfield Internal Medicine, Holly Oak Internal Medicine, Lourdes Pediatric Associates, Riverton Family Practice, Runnemede Family Practice, Triboro Family Physicians and Willingboro Town Center.

PPC-PCMH is a model of healthcare delivery that encourages improved quality and greater involvement of patients in their own care. The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home designation was developed to assess whether physician practices are functioning as medical homes and to recognize those who are for their efforts.

A patient-centered medical home is a setting where each patient has an ongoing relationship with a primary physician who leads a team that takes collective responsibility for patient care, providing for the patient's health care needs and arranging for appropriate care with other providers as needed. This evidence-based care model assures that patients get the care when and where they need it, in a manner and language in which they understand.

"LMA's commitment to high-quality care is something we are very proud of," Steven Fox, M.D., F.A.C.C., President of Lourdes Medical Associates. "This recognition from NCQA represents a culmination and validation of many quality-related efforts initiated at LMA. It shows our patients that their care is our top priority and that proven evidence-based medicine is the structure we operate by to drive quality in our practices."

Some of the key benefits of the PPC

PPC-PCMH model include more accessible care, improved provider-patient communications and enhanced ability to track results and referrals, obtain clinical support information and monitor performance.

To receive recognition, the twelve LMA practices met required standards in the following areas:

• Has written standards for patient access and patient communication
• Uses data to show it meets standards for patient access and communication
• Uses paper or electronic-based charting tools to organize clinical information
• Uses data to identify important diagnoses and conditions in practice
• Adopts and implements evidence-based guidelines for conditions
• Actively supports patient self-management
• Tracks tests and identifies abnormal results systematically
• Tracks referrals using paper-based or electronic system
• Measures clinical and/or service performance by physician or across the practice
• Reports performance across the practice or by physician

"The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of 21st century primary care that combines access, teamwork and technology to deliver quality care and improve health", said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "NCQA's PCMH recognition shows that the twelve LMA practices recognized have the tools, systems and resources to provide their patients with the right care at the right time."

The program reflects the input of the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and others in extension of the Physician Practice Connections Program.

About Lourdes Medical Associates (LMA)

Lourdes Medical Associates (LMA), an affiliate of Lourdes Health System, is a professional association of over 100 physicians and health professionals integrated into a network of hospital and outpatient services. LMA seeks to develop a highly integrated network of physicians and healthcare facilities that will provide high quality, readily available and affordable health care to patients. LMA has 35 office locations across South Jersey.

By integrating primary care and specialty physicians with a common goal and a dedication to delivering compassionate care in both the inpatient and outpatient setting, patients experience a seamless provision of care at whatever level of healthcare is needed.

Through the association of primary care and specialty physicians at the primary care level, patients are afforded the opportunity for convenient care delivered by professionals in a setting that assures optimal exchange of critical healthcare information that enables physicians to better understand the complexities of the patient's medical and psychological profile and enables patients to gain a better understanding of their illness and their needs.

Through the development of an integrated electronic medical record, all important healthcare related information will be available to all providers of care whenever and wherever the patient requires intervention.

About the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

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For media inquiries, please contact Lauren Markin at Markinl@lourdesnet.org or (856) 705-1375.