Congratulations to the Valley Primary Care Clinic teams. The clinics each have been awarded the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) annual recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for the second year in a row. In 2019, Valley underwent the new annual reporting process that is now required for maintaining PCMH recognition.

• Cascade Primary Care

• Covington Primary Care

• Fairwood Primary Care

• Kent Primary Care

• Lake Sawyer Primary Care

• Maple Valley Primary Care

• Newcastle Primary Care

• Renton Highlands Primary Care

• Valley Family Medicine

Our two newest clinics have also joined the Valley PCMH recognition ranks this year:

• Kent Station Primary Care

• Valley Senior Care & Internal Medicine

What is a Patient Centered Medical Home and how does it work?

PCMH is a model of care that puts patients at the forefront of care and strengthens their relationships with their clinical care teams.

Patients engage with a provider who takes primary responsibility for the patient's comprehensive care and arranges relevant care with other providers, such as specialists or other community resources as needed.

How are PCMH clinics chosen for recognition?

According to NCQA, medical homes are chosen based on their performance in a structure of concepts, criteria and competencies.

There are six overarching concepts consisting of 40 core standards and at least 25 credits of elective criteria developed from evidence-based guidelines and best practices that must be met in order to earn recognition.

The concept areas are:

• Team-based care and Practice Organization

• Knowing and Managing your Patients

• Patient-Centered Access and Continuity

• Care Management and Support

• Care Coordination and Care Transitions

• Performance Measurement and Quality Improvement

What are the benefits of achieving PCMH recognition?

Achieving national recognition is significant to the imminent future of healthcare.

Research shows that PCMHs improve quality by reducing fragmentation and bettering chronic conditions, as well as improve the patient experience and staff satisfaction—while reducing healthcare costs.

Additionally, The American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Family Medicine and American Board of Pediatrics allow clinicians in NCQA-recognized practices to receive maintenance of certification credits, reducing the burden on clinicians to take on additional activities.

As more emphasis is placed on value-based care, many payers acknowledge PCMH recognition as a hallmark of high-quality care.

State and federal programs, as well as more than 100 payers, support NCQA recognition through financial incentives and complementary coaching/practice support. Having the NCQA seal and the effort to improve quality can help Valley Medical Center better negotiate with payers as they will offer benefits ranging from higher reimbursement to preferred provider status.