California Primary Care Association Launches Patient-Centered Health Home Initiative

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the California Primary Care Association (CPCA) announced the official launch of its Patient-Centered Health Home (PCHH) initiative. This initiative is aimed at improving the quality of care provided at all health centers in the state and was developed in partnership with Arcadia Solutions, Azara Healthcare, and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) which awards recognition to health centers that meet the qualifications outlined as part of the national program.

A health home is an approach to delivering primary care that uses a 'whole person' orientation to provide comprehensive health care by facilitating an active partnership between patients, their family, and their primary care provider team to provide high quality, timely care in a coordinated and consistent way.  This approach provides patients with what care they need, when they need it, and patients work as equal partners with their provider team in managing their care.

"We are excited to officially launch this initiative, in partnership with NCQA, which will raise the level of care provided to the communities we serve. The PCHH initiative builds on the team based approach to care that health centers have used as their model for many years and leverages their existing strengths to build a sustainable standard for health home activities and services," said CPCA President and CEO Carmela Castellano-Garcia. "This launch comes after more than a year of development and a hugely successful pilot program which has already helped 150 providers in the state move closer to NCQA recognition. Our long-term goal is to have each of our nearly 900 member sites receive PCHH recognition through this program and develop successful health outcomes in their communities."

Health care reform legislation passed in 2010 has incentivized health centers to implement a PCHH model of care through additional funding opportunities. CPCA's initiative is built on the NCQA PCMH 2011 Standards, which CPCA believes very closely aligns with our members' values.  The standards set by NCQA describe clear and specific criteria and gives primary care practices information on how to best organize patient care, work in provider teams and track patient health over time.

"We are so pleased to partner with CPCA on this initiative to help more health center sites become NCQA recognized. NCQA has worked hard to drive improvement throughout the health care system, helping to elevate the issue of health care quality to the top of the national agenda," said NCQA President Peggy O'Kane. "CPCA has really been a leader in providing health centers in their state with the tools, guidance and technical assistance necessary to achieve PCHH recognition."

The process for recognition is complex and can take more than a year, which is why CPCA's initiative was created to help our members achieve recognition through substantial technical assistance. Much of this recognition support is delivered through an integrated online portal, the PCHH Accelerator Portal.  The portal was created by Arcadia Solutions, Inc., which has a long history of working with CPCA on state-wide data initiatives. This cloud-based tool is unique to CPCA's PCHH initiative and works to simplify the NCQA recognition process as well as support on-going practice transformation.

"Arcadia's goal has been and will continue to be, to drive data-driven change within provider organizations to deliver the highest quality of care, improve quality, and lower total medical expense," said Michael Meucci, PCHH Strategy Lead. "Achieving practice transformation associated with PCMH is a significant challenge. Arcadia is committed to helping our clients meet that challenge, by creating efficiencies in the process to accelerate the path to medical home through tools like the PCHH Accelerator Portal. The national positive uptake of the program since our launch in June has been exciting and illustrates a positive trend in care transformation across the country."

The PCHH initiative has four essential building blocks:

• PCHH Accelerator Portal - A web-based project management tool that facilitates the NCQA recognition process. Practices build an NCQA recognition implementation roadmap with a practice coach using baseline assessment data, and use the portal to track their progress as they work through their roadmap.
• Transformational Coaching – Tailored practice facilitation coaching, supporting both NCQA recognition and on-going quality improvement efforts.
• Learning Modules – An on-demand online learning environment providing hours of training content on quality improvement topics.
• Data Reporting and Visualization System (DRVS) – A data management and analytics tool designed for community health center reporting needs.

CPCA and its partners kicked off the official launch of its PCHH initiative today as part of a symposium aimed at providing both a federal and state-wide perspective on patient-centered health homes and the improved model of care they provide. For more information on CPCA's PCHH initiative, please visit www.cpca.org.

About CPCA
The California Primary Care Association (CPCA) is the statewide leader and recognized voice representing the interests of California's Community Clinics and Health Centers (CCHCs) and their patients. The association represents more than 800 not-for-profit CCHCs who provide comprehensive, quality health care services, particularly for low-income, uninsured and underserved Californians, who might otherwise not have access to health care. For more information about CPCA, please visit www.cpca.org.

About NCQA
NCQA 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 clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

About Arcadia Solutions
Arcadia Solutions is a nationally recognized, leading healthcare consulting firm that engages with both payers and providers to design, implement, and manage healthcare information technology (Health IT) infrastructure and applications. Since 2002, Arcadia's focus on data-driven solutions has allowed clients to more efficiently and cost-effectively manage their information through the right blend of people, processes, technology, and strategy. For more information, visit www.arcadiasolutions.com.

SOURCE California Primary Care Association