Press Release
Elmhurst Clinic physicians become first in state to receive recognition from NCQA for functioning as a medical home
For immediate release, August 23, 2010
Contact
Kyle Bauer, Public Relations Coordinator, 630-993-5702
ELMHURST – In June, a group of nine physicians from the Elmhurst Clinic’s Schiller Street location in Elmhurst became the first in Illinois to receive recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for functioning as a medical home. By August, 21 more physicians in the Clinic’s Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics departments earned recognition in the NCQA’s Physician Practice Connections® - Patient-Centered Medical Home Program. This distinction now applies to 30 Elmhurst Clinic physicians practicing in two Elmhurst locations, as well as sites in Addison, Bloomingdale, Lombard, Oak Park and Wood Dale.
A patient-centered medical home is a model of care that strengthens the physician-patient relationship by replacing episodic care with coordinated care and a long-term healing relationship. Each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician who leads a team at a single location that takes collective responsibility for patient care, providing for the patient’s health care needs and arranging for appropriate care with other qualified clinicians. The medical home is intended to result in more personalized, coordinated, effective and efficient care.
“We see the concept of a patient-centered medical home as the key to helping our patients establish a meaningful relationship with a physician who takes a whole-person approach to your care at all levels,” said Donald Lurye, M.D., Elmhurst Clinic Chief Executive Officer. “This recognition reaffirms our commitment to enhancing the way we manage chronic conditions and streamline care for our patients.”
The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home Program was developed to assess whether physician practices are functioning as medical homes and recognize them for these efforts. The program’s standards emphasize the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication and patient involvement. The program reflects the input of the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and others in extension of the Physician Practice Connections Program.
“The patient-centered medical home has the potential to change the interaction between patients and physicians,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, NCQA President. “Patients can no longer be silent partners in their care – they are active participants in managing their health with a shared goal of staying as healthy as possible.”
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the web and media in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.
Founded in 1952, the Elmhurst Clinic has established itself as one of the premier multi-specialty medical groups in DuPage County – providing a range of care for the entire family. In 1996, the Clinic became affiliated with Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare, bringing together the medical expertise of the Clinic’s physicians and the technology and resources of a community-based healthcare organization with comprehensive services and a long-standing tradition of bringing the latest diagnostic technology and treatments to families in DuPage and Cook Counties. Now with more than 100 physicians and nurse practitioners representing 21 specialties, the Elmhurst Clinic provides excellent care at eight convenient locations, including Addison, Bloomingdale, Oakbrook Terrace, Elmhurst, Oak Park, Wood Dale, the Elmhurst Memorial Lombard Health Center and the Elmhurst Memorial Center for Health in south Elmhurst.