NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home™ standards emphasize enhanced care through
patient-clinician partnership

BUFFALO, NY—The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has announced that Urban Family Practice of Buffalo has received level three NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long‐term, participative relationships. Level three is the highest degree of recognition available.

The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of primary care that combines teamwork and information technology to improve care, improve patients’ experience of care and reduce costs. Medical homes foster ongoing partnerships between patients and their personal clinicians, instead of approaching care as the sum of episodic office visits. Each patient’s care is overseen by clinician-led care teams that coordinate treatment across the health care system. Research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patient and provider reported experiences of care. Research results can be found on pages 10 – 14 of the NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home Evidence Summary Table at the link below:

https://www.pcpcc.org/sites/default/files/resources/Executive%20Summary%20Only%20with%20Evidence.pdf

“NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition raises the bar in defining high-quality care by emphasizing access, health information technology and coordinated care focused on patients,” said Raul Vazquez, MD, Urban Family Practice (UFP) president and founder. “Recognition shows that UFP has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”

To earn recognition, which is valid for three years, Urban Family Practice demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements, embodying characteristics of the medical home. NCQA standards aligned with the joint principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home established with the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association.

Vazquez has also been recognized under the NCQA’s 2014 Diabetes Recognition Program for meeting the standards of demonstrating delivery of high-quality care to patients with diabetes.

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. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA’s web site (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

About Urban Family Practice

Urban Family Practice (UFP) is a fully-equipped health care facility that provides on-site lab services, x-rays, EKGs, spirometry tests, ultrasounds, venous doppler studies, holters, echoes, stress tests and physical therapy. In addition, UFP offers on-site appointments for specialist’s consultations and follow-ups. The bilingual private practice is located on Buffalo’s West Side.