(Orlando, October 22, 2013) The UCF Regional Extension Center and Primary Partners, an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), have signed an agreement to assist their providers with achieving Patient Centered Medical Home recognition.
The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a new model of primary care delivery that focuses on patient-centered, physician-lead, whole person care. The PCMH leverages the use of health information technology to measure quality improvement, coordinated care and improved access for patients, which all have the potential for cost efficiencies for patient, payers and practitioners.
The UCF Regional Extension Center’s PCMH experts will help Primary Partners’ providers navigate PCMH requirements and reporting as well as the use of electronic health records and other Health IT solutions.
“Our goal is to improve the health of our entire community by helping providers increase the quality of care as they reduce costs,” said UCF REC executive director, Josue F. Rodas. “We are honored to be among the nation’s first recognized leaders in helping physicians become patient-centered medical homes and being able to work with Primary Partners.”
Primary Partners has more than 60 providers and 40 practices across Central Florida, serving over 14,000 Medicare beneficiaries through their ACOs.
Nationally there are more than 5,000 recognized Patient-Centered Medical Home practices and trends show that those numbers will greatly expand over the next few years. UCF REC plans to expand its PCMH services and continue assisting other physicians in Florida to improve quality through Health Information Technology and the adoption of electronic health record systems.
The UCF Regional Extension Center is part of the UCF College of Medicine, and it has been helping physicians transition to electronic health records since 2010. The center is one of 62 RECs established nationwide to help primary care providers adopt, implement and reach meaningful use of electronic health records. It serves seven Central Florida counties including Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia counties.
Contact: Suhtling Wong, P: 407.309.4787, E: Swong@ucf-rec.org