MEDIA RELEASE

Kaiser Permanente has announced its Waimea and Kona Clinics on the Big Island, and its Kailua Clinic on Oahu, and their primary care providers, have received the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Physician Practice ConnectionsR (PPC) Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition at Level 3, the highest level, for its integrated and coordinated care delivery system, which supports quality, access, continuity of care, and better patient involvement.

All three clinics scored the highest points possible – 100 out of 100 – for this recognition.

The PCMH is a model of care that seeks to strengthen physician-patient interaction with coordinated care and a long-term healing relationship. It is gaining acceptance nationally as a best-practice method of care delivery and is a promising tool for successful health care reform implementation.

Kaiser Permanente’s model is based on coordinated care and standardized systems, such as the fully integrated electronic medical record system. Nine of Kaiser Permanente clinics have now received Level 3 PCMH recognition – the highest standard – from NCQA.

In addition to Waimea, Kona and Kailua, the Mapunapuna, Honolulu and Hawaii Kai Clinics on Oahu, and Kihei, Lahaina and Maui Lani Clinics on Maui have earned this recognition. Kaiser Permanente plans to have all of its 16 primary care clinics in Hawaii designated PCMH Level 3 by the end of 2011.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii was recently rated as having the highest-rated Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial plan in the state, according to NCQA Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2010-11. All three plans are also accredited with NCQA’s highest quality rating.