With the completion of this year's National Committee for Quality Assurance review, 11 Regional Health Command-Pacific Army Medical Homes, or AHMs, received renewed Patient Centered Medical Home, or PCMH, recognition and two AMHs were awarded new recognition in January and February. This primary care national standard, good for three years, is a requirement of all AMHs by the U.S. Army Medical Command.
"This year's result is a culmination of the hard work and dedication our Army medicine team puts forth throughout the entire Pacific region," said Brig. Gen. Bertram Providence, RHC-P commanding general. "Additionally, it shows the high level of service that is consistently available across the command to our military members, their families and other beneficiaries."
Geographically unique, RHC-P scopes the Pacific, with 27 AMHs spanning three countries with locations in Korea, Japan and the United States (Alaska, Washington, California and Hawaii). Despite geographic separation where some clinics may be isolated, 12 clinics received the highest rating with a level three recognition, and one clinic, with minimal staffing, received a level two. The remaining 14 AMHs in RHC-P attained a level three recognition during their last recognition periods.
Clinics recognized this year are:
• Bassett Army Community Hospital, Alaska PCMH
• Kamish Clinic, Alaska SCMH
• Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Troop Medical Clinic, Alaska SCMH
• Fort Greely Army Medical Home, Alaska PCMH
• South Sound Community Medical Home, Washington CBMH
• 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team Soldier-Centered Medical Home, Washington SCMH
• Camp Casey Troop Clinic, Republic of Korea PCMH
• Camp Carroll Troop Clinic, Republic of Korea SCMH
• Camp Walker Clinic, Republic of Korea PCMH
• Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital, Republic of Korea PCMH
• Tripler Army Medical Center Pediatrics, Hawaii PCMH
• Schofield Barracks Health Clinic Soldier Centered Medical Home, Hawaii SCMH
• California Medical Detachment, Presidio of Monterey, California PCMH
According to Dr. Sean Harap, RHC-P Clinical Operations, this accomplishment is due to the clinical staffs going beyond the requirements and exceeding the standards of primary care excellence that civilian PCMHs across the nation hold themselves to in order to ensure a high level of care for their patients. "This validation by an independent civilian organization of the superior processes our AMHs have in place to deliver safe, quality care, is a testament of the high level of dedication our primary care clinics have, from Camp Casey in Korea to South Sound Community Medical Home and all points in between," he said.
Joseph Wall, RHC-P Primary Care Service Line Administrator, highlighted the drive teams displayed. "The leadership and staff at our medical homes realize that meeting NCQA standards will help deliver better care to our patients. We leveraged teamwork and leadership with technology to form a learning collaborative model to standardize best practices to better serve our patients," said Wall. "This included how we can use our common information systems to proactively identify and respond to what our patients need. We were transparent in sharing progress and helping each other mitigating challenges. We built on a successful base of performance."
During this review, three of the practices vaulted from level two recognition to level three, each improving by more than 10 points and scoring within five to eight points of a perfect 100 point score.
When asked what was different, Wall said, "The leadership in these practices was determined to reach the next level. They sustained the previous performance, and then worked on improvements in the remaining areas."
Additionally, Wall said they learned from the experiences of other practices that had already received level three recognition. "They saw what right looks like and adopted successful practices. This standardized processes that were demonstrated to be successful in attaining higher levels of recognition."
The recognition process required AMHs to submit documented processes, reports, materials, and chart notes demonstrating performance in 157 factors. Those factors were spread throughout six key program component areas:
• patient-centered access
• team-based care
• population health management
• care management and support
• care coordination and transitions
• performance measurement and quality improvement
"Many long hours and diligent work went into this process," said Harap. The RHC-P Primary Care Service Line team helped guide the process through monthly collaboration meetings with all AMHs and day-to-day virtual guidance. Additionally, the PCSL team augmented assistance by in-person mentoring and training at the clinics, either during the staff assistance visits or organizational inspection program process.
Harap said, "The subject-matter experts on the RHC-P PCSL helped guide the AMHs in the run-up to the recognition process by performing near real time reviews of the clinic submissions, and providing on-the-spot feedback and assistance."
RHC-P recognition is "great for Army Medicine and each and every patient we care for. Primary care in the AMHs represents the bedrock upon which safe, quality care is built upon," said Harap. "Our soldiers, their families and our beneficiaries can feel confident that the care they are receiving is based on the solid foundation of primary care that exists through the United States."
With the close of these reviews, Wall said, "We will now evolve this model to meet the new Joint Commission PCMH certification standards, and to meet the expectations in our annual performance plans."
"We will apply the same due diligence we have to date to continuously improve our AMHs," said Harap. "Through continuous emphasis on these key areas, we are demonstrating the superior care that is delivered by our primary care clinics through the AMHs and a commitment to improvements that meet the top priorities of the Defense Health Agency and MEDCOM -- medical readiness, access to care, quality and safety."
About Regional Health Command-Pacific
RHC-P orchestrates the delivery of world-class medical care for service members, families and eligible beneficiaries, and provides medical readiness and diplomacy in support of United States Army Pacific in the Pacific Command area of responsibility.
RHC-P's area of responsibility includes all medical, dental, public health, and warrior care and transition services in Hawaii, Washington, Alaska, Japan, Korea and throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
To learn more about RHC-P and what their subordinate commands are doing for beneficiaries and the community, visit www.army.mil/rchpacific.
Na Koa Imua -- Warriors Go Forth!
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