WASHINGTON, DC — The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today announced that Pen Bay Family Medicine and physicians Jeffrey Landfair, MD; Aoife Redmond-Durow, MD; Carrie Thackeray, MD; and Elizabeth Vonfelten, MD of Rockport have received 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.

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.

"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 NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane.

"Recognition shows that Pen Bay Family Medicine 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, Pen Bay Family Medicine 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.

To find clinicians and their practices with NCQA PCMH Recognition, visit recognition.ncqa.org.

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, according to a news release.

NCQA's website ncqa.org contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

To learn more about Pen Bay Medical Center, visit penbayhealthcare.org.