BENNINGTON - Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's (SVMC) Northshire Campus has achieved the nation's highest recognition for providing a new model of more personal, effective, and efficient primary care.

The medical practice has earned recognition as a Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA.

This certification is a significant achievement that recognizes the outstanding level of care we consistently strive to provide," stated Dr. Natacha Jager, medical director of the SVMC Northshire Campus. "It underscores our commitment to putting patients at the center of all we do and also provides direct financial support to make positive changes, such as the recent addition of a part-time nurse case manager, a mental health care worker and a dietitian."

The primary care medical home program identifies practices that promote partnerships between individual patients and their personal clinicians. A team of doctors, nurses, and other allied health providers oversees each patient's care. The team ensures that care for all the patient's health needs is coordinated across the health care system.

To receive recognition, a practice must demonstrate the ability to meet six key standards of the Patient Centered Medical Home model, which was developed by the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Osteopathic Association.

The areas

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include: access to care, using tools to identify patients and their information; planning and managing patient care; providing self-care tools; tracking and coordinating care; and a system for measuring and improving performance. Each standard has several subsections. The NCQA assesses how well each medical practice has implemented the standards and designates practices as Level 1, 2, or 3. Level 3 designation is awarded to the highest scoring and most comprehensive medical homes.

The NCQA designated SVMC's Northshire Campus as a Level 3 medical home. That means the Northshire Campus excels in implementing the Medical Home model. For example, the practice uses electronic tools to track patients and organize clinical information, manage care, write prescriptions, and track referrals and test results. It also focuses on preventive care and using evidence-based guidelines for treating chronic conditions.

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.