Community Health Services of Hartford (CHS) is proud to have been recognized by The Joint Commission as a Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH).
The Joint Commission’s PCMH certification option is based on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) definition of a “medical home” which includes these core functions and attributes:
Patient-centered care – Relationship-based care focused on the whole person and understanding and respecting each patient’s needs, culture, values and preferences.
Comprehensive care – A team of providers (may include physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, mental health workers, social workers and others) working to meet each patient’s physical and mental health care needs, including prevention and wellness, acute care and chronic care.
Coordinated care – Care is coordinated across the broader health care system, including specialty care, hospitals, home care and the provision of community and support services. This is particularly critical during transitions between sites of care, such as when patients are discharged from the hospital.
Superb access to care – Patients having access to services with shorter waiting times for urgent needs, enhanced in-person hours, around the clock telephone or electronic access to members of the care team, and alternative methods of communication.
Systems-based approach to quality and safety – The organization using evidence-based medicine and clinical decision support tools, engaged in performance measurement and improvement, measuring and responding to patient experiences and satisfaction, practicing population health management, and publicly sharing robust quality and safety data and improvement activities.
PCMH Certification recognizes CHS as an organization that has demonstrated substantial progress in achieving all of these aims. Our patients benefit from this model of care because they have increased access to their primary care clinician and interdisciplinary health care team. Their care is tracked and coordinated, and increased use of health information technology supports their care.
Achievement of this important recognition is a continuous journey. It is a testament to the skill and dedication of the CHS team of caregivers and support staff to provide care in a manner that we would want for our own family and loved ones. At CHS, we treat you like family, and achieving PCMH certification is one important way in which we can demonstrate this commitment!
