Brussels Army Health Clinic earns national recognition as Army medical home

Photo By Ed Drohan | After nearly a year of hard work, the Brussels Army Health Clinic has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as an Army patient-centered medical home.  

BRUSSELS, BRU, BELGIUM

03.05.2014

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Randall Jackson 

Medical Readiness Command, Europe

BRUSSELS – After nearly a year of hard work, the Brussels Army Health Clinic has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as an Army patient-centered medical home.

PCMH is a team approach to healthcare. In a PCMH, patients are partnered with a team of healthcare professionals which includes their primary care provider, registered nurse, licensed practice nurse and medic. Together over time, the patient and their health care team, work to treat illness and injuries, promote healthy living and manage ongoing healthcare issues.

“The patient-centered medical home [PCMH] is a way of organizing primary care that into what patients want it to be – patient-centered,” said Brussels Army Health Clinic commander Lt. Col. Kirsten Bautista. “We support patient learning to manage and organize their care and ensure that patients and families are fully informed partners in developing care plans. We provide care as a team allowing team-members to work ‘at the top of their license’ thus freeing up appointments and utilizing staff skills. We focus on prevention and wellness at every visit and reach out to members of the community who are in need of preventive healthcare services. And, we focus on enhanced access and same-day appointment availability.”

The NCQA is a nonprofit organization that measures the ability of medical facilities to provide quality healthcare through standardized, objective measurement guidelines. NCQA requires recognized facilities to enhance access to care and patients' continuity with their provider teams, keep track of patient data to help manage patients' well being, plan and manage care using evidence-based practices, provide self-care support and community resources, as well as track and coordinate tests, referrals and other care for patients. Finally, clinics have to show that they measure their performance and patients' feedback to continue improving the quality of care.

“The Army Medical Department began its transformation to patient-centered medical home approximately three years ago,” Bautista said. “Military clinics have an added stressor of frequent turnover of leadership, staff and patients. One of the key aspects of PCMH is knowing and managing our population. We need to know who our patients with chronic disease are and ensure we're managing them effectively. Transformation is a team effort and a source of pride for the entire organization.”

Here’s what patients can expect from the Brussels Army Health Clinic Medical Home:

• A personal provider. Each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner who is trained to provide first contact, continuous and comprehensive care.

• Physician directed medical practice. The personal physician leads a team(s) of individuals at the practice level who collectively take responsibility for ongoing patient care.

• Whole person orientation. The personal provider is responsible for providing all of the patient’s health care needs or for arranging care with other qualified professionals.

• Coordinated and integrated vare. Each patient’s care is coordinated and integrated across all elements of the health care system and the patient’s community.

• Quality and safety focus: All members of the healthcare team are focused on ensuring high quality care in the medical home.

• Improved access: In the PCMH, enhanced access to care options are available through open scheduling, same day appointments, secure messaging and other innovative options for communication between patients, their personal physician and practice staff.

Brussels Army Health Clinic is the 11th PCMH in under the Europe Regional Medical Command. Army medicine’s goal is to have all of its primary care facilities in the continental U.S. and overseas achieve NCQA recognition and transform to the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care no later than Oct. 1. The transition to the PCMH model of care is part of Army medicine’s overall shift from a health care system to a system for health.

• Date Taken: 03.05.2014
• Date Posted: 03.05.2014 07:30
• Story ID: 121518
• Location: BRUSSELS, BRU, BE