NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center certified as a Health Care Home.

Dec. 14, 2010 - PRLog -- Minneapolis, Mn. - In early October, NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center became the first Federally Qualified Health Care Center in Minnesota to become certified by the Minnesota Department of Health as a Health Care Home.

Health care homes, also known as “medical homes,” offer a team approach to primary care making it easier for patients to communicate and partner with their care team. Care teams can include: clinicians, nurses, specialists, pharmacists, care coordinators, community resources and others.

In a health care home, a care coordinator who develops a relationship with patients and their families works with them to coordinate their care and achieve better health. This includes streamlining access to appointments, improving communication with specialists, answering questions over the phone and planning for care.

What this means for the patient is continuity of health care.  The patient is part of a team of people who help the patient direct his or her care.  By using nationally recognized standards of care, in conjunction with a patient’s culture, preferences and input, a plan of care is developed to help the patient manage that care wherever that care is needed.

For the organization, it means that NorthPoint now qualifies to receive monthly per-person care coordination payment for patients with multiple chronic conditions.

“Having this first set of certified health care homes is a great step forward for Minnesota as we strengthen the foundation of primary care in the state. Health care homes help ensure that patients get the right care, at the right time, in the right place,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Sanne Magnan. “This is a significant part of our state’s redesign of care and payment to improve health outcomes and build a higher-value health care system. By focusing on better coordination of health care, we can improve health and manage chronic conditions better, while addressing the cost of health care.”

To be certified as a health care home, NorthPoint had to meet a rigorous set of standards that were developed through a public-private stakeholder process. The standards included:
1.  Access and Communication:  a system to support effective communication among the team members, the patient and other providers;

2.  Patient Registry:  a searchable electronic patient registry to record participant information and track patient care;

3.  Care Coordination:  a system of care coordination that promotes patient and family-centered care

4.  Care plan:  an individualized guide for patients with complex or chronic conditions; and

5. Performance Improvement:  implementation of a quality improvement process that focuses on the patient’s experience, health and cost-effectiveness of care.

Once NorthPoint had these criteria in place, the Minnesota Department of Health conducted a full day site visit where they interviewed patients, providers and support staff to verify that the clinic met the applicable criteria.

The development of health care homes is an important part of Minnesota’s 2008 health reform law that aims to improve the health of the population, the patient experience and the affordability of health care.

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NorthPoint Health & Wellness center is a full service medical clinic, and human services facility in North Minneapolis serving the Hennepin
county community