Reliant Medical Group is proud to announce the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has certified its pediatric care practices, and re-certified its adult primary care practices, as Patient-Centered Medical Home Level 3. The eleven free-standing primary care practices that achieved this status earned a score of 96.5 out of a possible 100 points.

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. Medical homes foster ongoing partnerships between patients and their personal healthcare team, instead of approaching care on an episodic basis. Each patient’s care is overseen by physician-led teams, likely to include advanced practitioners, registered nurses, medical assistants, care managers, and pharmacists, that coordinate treatment across the healthcare system. Research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patient and provider reported experiences of care.

“Earning this Level 3 recognition again is a testament to the continued hard work and dedication put forth by all our adult and pediatric primary care teams,” said Marc-David Munk, M.D., Reliant’s Chief Medical Officer. “Highly coordinated care is quickly becoming the standard across our industry, and we’re proud to say that Reliant is well-positioned to deliver on that standard.”

To earn certification, which is valid for three years, Reliant Medical Group demonstrated the ability to meet or exceed the program’s standards in six critical areas including: access to care; use of electronic data to manage high risk patients; proper planning and management of care processes; providing proper resources for self-care when chronically ill; tracking and coordinating care among various healthcare providers and measuring and continuously improving performance. 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.

While the Level 3 recognition pertains exclusively to Reliant’s primary care practices, an effective Patient Centered Medical Home is dependent on robust collaboration among primary care physicians and various consulting specialty doctors. Within Reliant’s healthcare delivery system, primary care physicians work closely with more than 100 specialty physicians around patients’ care and treatment planning.