Contact Person(s) Vanessa Kortze (603) 292.7208 |
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Newmarket - Lamprey Health Care is pleased to announce that its Newmarket Medical Center has received recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a patient-centered medical home for its excellence in patient services, use of best practices, and integration of health information technologies.
Lamprey Health Care’s Newmarket Physicians received Level III NCQA Recognition by meeting key program measures such as providing 24/7 access to health care services through on-site medical appointments and after-hours nursing triage; using health information technologies, such as electronic health records (EHRs); practice-wide quality measurement and improvement efforts; screening, referrals and follow-up for at-risk patients; and structured care for patients with chronic conditions.
The Medical Home Model of Care focuses on coordinating individual patient care throughout the entire medical team and enhancing the patient-provider relationship to improve health outcomes. A concept already in practice at Lamprey Health Care, this patient-centered delivery of care enables the providers to focus on individual patient needs, proactively treating chronic illnesses and influencing healthier behaviors for better health management. “The medical home model enhances continuity of care. It links a select medical team with each patient who can then concentrate on his or her individualized care plan, developed with the patients’ own values in mind, from an accessible home base, “states Lamprey Physician, Dr. Paul Friedrichs.
In December of 2008, Lamprey Health Care was selected to pilot the Citizens Health Initiative Multi-Stakeholder Patient Centered Medical Home Program; a collaborative of practices that focuses on high quality, coordinated care, and standards of best practices that increase efficiencies and reduce healthcare costs for patients. As part of the Citizens Health Initiative Medical Home Program, all practices had to apply for and achieve at least Level One NCQA Recognition remain in the pilot program, with Level III Recognition representing the highest level.
Lamprey Health Care CEO, Ann Peters, intends to bring this patient-centered model to Lamprey’s other 2 sites as well. “This patient-centered model enhances the continuity of care for each patient, as well as the patient-physician relationship, and engages the patient to take a more active role in their own health care, leading to healthier outcomes,” she says.
Lamprey’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) System exists as the key component of the organization’s success as a patient-centered medical home since introduced in 2000. It has enabled the medical team to improve the quality of patient care by using information systematically that puts the patient under the care of the entire medical team.
Practices meeting NCQA patient-centered medical home standards, such as Lamprey Health Care, Newmarket, use their electronic medical record systems to proactively monitor the health of each patient and identify health risks for chronic illness complications. Such approaches help improve patient and provider satisfaction by proactively managing chronic diseases, and in addition, improving patient health outcomes while reducing acute-care or emergency room costs.
Lamprey Health Care is a nonprofit community health care organization with medical centers in Newmarket, Raymond and Nashua, New Hampshire. The organization serves the Southern & Seacoast Areas of New Hampshire, and provides primary care & preventive health services to individuals of all ages and incomes, regardless of their ability to pay.
For more information on Lamprey Health Care, its services and programs, please call us at 603.659.2494 or visit our website at http://www.lampreyhealth.org.
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