In this episode, we’re focusing on NCQA’s PCSP—Patient-Centered Specialty Practice Recognition program. As noted on our website, the PCSP Recognition program focuses on coordinating and sharing information among primary care clinicians and specialists. It requires clinicians to organize care around patients—across all clinicians seen by a patient. Patients and their families or other caregivers are included in planning care and considered partners in managing conditions.

Specialty practices that earn NCQA’s PCSP Recognition communicate more effectively with primary care, integrate services better with primary care and improve the quality of their care. Patients see the difference through reduced costs, better data and records management, improved identification and oversight of chronic conditions, and more face time with a more satisfied medical staff.

For this interview, we found one of our greatest advocates of the PCSP Recognition program, an extremely busy and dedicated medical team from Providence Heart Institute in Portland, Oregon. A number of years ago, they saw the need for PCSP, found solutions that worked conclusively and spread the word throughout their company about the effectiveness of the patient-centered specialty practice model of care.

Xiaoyan Huang, MD, Chief of Clinical Cardiology, leads clinical operations and care transformation for advanced heart failure, electrophysiology, general cardiology and interventional cardiology subspecialties. Danielle Christensen is Clinical Program Manager at the Providence Heart Institute in Oregon. With experience in both ambulatory and acute care settings, Danielle’s expertise spans business development and strategy, change management and development, and the optimized exchange of electronic health records.

Dr. Huang and Danielle led a session at NCQA’s first Health Innovation Summit in the fall of 2022. And they ran a fascinating and informative training webinar which is still available for download on our education website. The title of their course: “CCE Quarterly: Building with a Blueprint: Taking a Patient-Centered Specialty Practice from Medical Neighborhood to High Performing Network.”

The interview is hosted by NCQA’s Senior Vice President for Product and Customer Operations, Lori Ferguson.

Later on, in our Fast Facts segment, we observe National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month with important stats to share with colleagues and community. Among many of our products and measures addressing behavioral health needs, we mention is NCQA’s “Managed Behavioral Health Organization Accreditation” or MBHO, an important accreditation for employers.