The Center for Pediatrics, with 14 physicians and 11 mid-level providers, is the first pediatric practice in Northeast Georgia to achieve this level of recognition under the NCQA's 2011 PCMH Standards. Of the eight pediatric sites in Georgia with this certification, the TLC Center for Pediatrics represents five of them.
A patient-centered medical home is a comprehensive approach to providing quality primary care. The Center for Pediatrics at The Longstreet Clinic, P.C., works in partnership with each child and his or her family to ensure all medical needs are met. Through this partnership, the pediatric team will help the patient and his or her family access and understand specialty care and other educational/community services.
Obtaining this level of recognition means a practice has demonstrated that it meets rigorous standards including utilization of evidence-based criteria, patient-centered care and use of information technology in the delivery of care to patients.
"The Center for Pediatrics is proud to provide accessible, comprehensive family-centered care to each child we treat," said Eugene Cindea, M.D., chairman of the pediatrics department at The Longstreet Clinic.
The NCQA's Patient-Centered Medical Home program requires that practices organize care around patients, coordinate care through multi-disciplinary teams and monitor outcomes over time. The PCMH is a health care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients and their personal physicians, and when appropriate, the patient's family. Clinical care is facilitated by organizing patient needs based on health status through information technology, organizational infrastructure investment and other means to assure that patients get the indicated care when and where they need and want it in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
"We are proud of our pediatricians for their commitment to a patient-first approach of providing high quality care," said Jeff Reinhardt, M.D., TLC physician and president. "Their hard work to achieve the highest level of PCMH certification demonstrates their willingness to adapt to ongoing changes in health care."
The Longstreet Clinic is an independent multi-specialty medical group owned and managed by physicians. Since 1995, TLC has grown to include nearly 150 providers in some 16 specialties. TLC is ranked by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as the ninth largest physician group practice in Metro Atlanta, and as the third largest independent group practice.
With its main campus located in Gainesville, TLC physicians also see patients at offices in Oakwood, Buford, Braselton, Dacula, Duluth, Dahlonega, Baldwin and Toccoa.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/5/261331