Plymouth and West Allis clinics are first in Wisconsin to earn National Patient-Centered Medical Home designation

Milwaukee, Wis. - Aurora Health Care clinics in Plymouth and West Allis have received Patient-Centered Medical Home designation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

Aurora is the first health system in Wisconsin to have clinics receive the Patient Centered Medical Home recognition and designation.

“This designation reflects our commitment to find better ways of delivering care,” said Jeff Bailet, M.D., president of Aurora Medical Group. “The patient-centered focus has been an integral part of Aurora’s philosophy of care. The Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition is an acknowledgement that we are meeting those expectations and standards.”

The Patient-Centered Medical Home recognizes a health care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients, their personal physicians and, when appropriate, the patient’s family. The designation is built on evidence-based, nationally recognized clinical standards of care. The Patient Centered Medical Home standards emphasize the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication and patient involvement.

“As an integrated health system, our goal is to ensure that each person receives coordinated, patient-centered care,” said Jeff Bailet, M.D., president of Aurora Medical Group. We are working to ensure that strong communication and patient involvement are a standard part of our practice. “

Bailet noted that two-thirds of Aurora’s patient care takes place outside the hospital inpatient setting, underscoring the importance of the medical home concept.

The medical home is a model of care where each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician who leads a team responsible for a patient’s care. The physician-led care team is responsible for providing all the patient’s health care needs and coordinating care across the health care system.

A medical home also emphasizes enhanced care through open scheduling, expanded hours and communication between patients, physicians and staff.

A clinic must meet stringent criteria to receive NCQA designation as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. Key elements of the evaluation include:

• Written standards for patient access and patient communication
• Use of data to show that standards for patient access and communication are met
• Use of paper or electronic charting tools to organize clinical information
• Use of data to identify important diagnoses and conditions in practice
• Adoption and implementation of evidence-based guidelines for three chronic conditions
• Active patient self-management support
• Systematic tracking of test results and identification of abnormal results
• Referral tracking, using a paper or electronic system
• Clinical and/or service performance measurement, by physician or across the practice
• Performance reporting, by physician or across the practice

The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas.

Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit Wisconsin health care provider and a national leader in efforts to improve the quality of health care. Aurora offers care at sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin.

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Contact: Ron Irwin
Phone: 414-647-3405