The National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) today announced that PA Susan Edgman-Levitan will lead the panel of experts charged with revising the committee's landmark Physician Practice Connections - Patient-Centered Medical Home (PPC-PCMH) evaluation of medical practices.
Edgman-Levitan is executive director of the Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Mass General Hospital in Boston, Mass. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Duke University PA program. She received the Distinguished Alumni award from the Duke PA program and was inducted into the Duke University Medical Center Hall of Fame in 2004.
She will chair the 23-member PPC-PCMH advisory committee. NCQA anticipates revised standards that continue to be feasible for individual practices and that also encourage better coordination and integration across systems.
"The medical home is an evolving concept and I look forward to supporting the evolution of NCQA's standards as we hear the ideas and experiences of stakeholders from across the health care system," Edgman-Levitan said in a NCQA press release.
According to the press release, NCQA decided to update the PPC-PCMH program to reflect the growing interest in this promising approach to improving care quality. Since its introduction in 2008, NCQA's PPC-PCMH program has recognized more than 300 medical practices across the U.S. In recent months, the medical home model has gained greater visibility with its inclusion in several statewide programs and in health reform bills now pending in Congress.
"The medical home model has taken root across the country and with each day new ideas are emerging," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "We are learning from the experiences of physician practices and continuing to evolve our approach to reflect these promising developments."
A second task force, chaired by Robert Margolis, MD, CEO of HealthPartners of California, will explore how to apply the medical home standards and other quality requirements to accountable care organizations (ACOs) and provide guidance to the broader committee.
Edgman-Levitan's PPC-PCMH advisory committee will apply findings from research and practical application of the medical home model in demonstration projects to inform the update. Among the questions the committee will explore are how to:
-- Define aspects of the model that can improve quality and save money
-- Incorporate patient experience into the evaluation of practices
-- Incorporate clinical care results into the evaluation of practices
-- Recognize the role of non-physician clinicians
-- Align standards with federal "meaningful use" requirements for
electronic health records
For more on PA Susan Edgman-Levitan, read a Duke University Physician Assistant Alumni Association profile on her here.
(Posted Nov. 18, 2009)
