STAR Health Center Gets Top Rating for Patient-Centered Care
Apr 8, 2013
The Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Health Center at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University has received Level 3 recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a patient-centered medical home (PCMH). Level 3 designation is the highest achievable recognition for a medical group, awarded only to programs that pass a rigorous review process.
Under the leadership of Distinguished Service Professor Jack DeHovitz, MD, MPH, the STAR Health Center has been providing clinical care and support services for HIV-positive adults since 1991. These services include many that are part of a successful patient-centered medical home, which NCQA describes as a model of care that strengthens the physician-patient relationship by replacing episodic care with coordinated care and a long-term healing relationship.
Among the medical home features that NCQA scores in determining recognition are enhanced
access and continuity, planning and management of care, and provision of self-care
support and community resources. The STAR Health Center excels at offering services
considered critical to the patient-centered medical home concept such as personalized
clinical care, social services and case management, behavioral health services, patient
education, and nutritional counseling.
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"The STAR Health Center's care model embodies the core medical home principles of
expanded access and service coordination, support for patients' self-management of
chronic conditions, and the use of electronic health records and quality metrics to
manage our population's health,” says Dr. DeHovitz. “The NCQA medical home recognition
is a welcome affirmation that our work at STAR reflects the best practices in primary
care and supports the federal and state health reform goals of improving quality of
care and the patient experience, while lowering costs, especially for the most medically
complex populations."
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality. It accredits and certifies a wide range of healthcare organizations and also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. In attaining Level 3 recognition, the STAR Health Center received 94.75 out of a possible 100 points.
The STAR Health Center provides rapid HIV testing, medical examinations, prenatal care, patient education, hepatitis C screening and treatment, mental health services, nutritional counseling, substance use counseling, treatment adherence counseling, social work and psychiatry services, specialized domestic violence/trauma counseling for women, and family-centered case management. Specialized gynecological care is given to HIV-positive women. The Center’s treatment adherence services include: adherence education; adherence counseling; group education sessions; adherence support groups; and same-day medication adherence focused medical visits.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.