By Mountain Family Health Centers
Congratulations to the Health Information Team (formerly Medical Records and Referral) for winning this month’s Mariposa Award! Family Nurse Practitioner Jenny Lang nominated the team, and has these words of praise:
The Health Information Team holds a key element in the success of high quality patient care that Mountain Family delivers every day. From receiving consult notes from specialists to obtaining diagnostic and lab results and hospital records, the team helps to complete the circle of care that allows the provider group to give the best care possible to the more than 19,000 patients that Mountain Family serves.
Without this information, the provider group would not be able to make informed decisions about patient care. We frequently interrupt their daily work flow to request a record and are always greeted with a friendly hello and “sure, I can do that for you.” Moments later the requested record is attached and we are able to review the results with the patient and together we are able to make a plan of care. Having the ability to discuss with the patient the results during an office visit rather than a telephone call is the true meaning of patient-centered care. This allows the patient to consider the results, ask questions in person, and we are able to identify any barriers in understanding the results and next steps.
The Health Information Team also has the difficult task of finding specialty providers that accept all insurances and self-pay patients. Even though it is a difficult task, we have yet to hear back from the Referral team that they could not find a provider to take one of our patients. Finding a specialty provider to assist in giving more direction to a patient’s care is essential and affects our patients’ quality of wellness and health every day.
And if a referral is marked urgent, it is done sooner than lightning. The Health Information Team is more than deserving of the Mariposa Award. Most of them may not realize the incredible impact that they have every day on patient care. We applaud them for the hard work they do and the vital role they play in the delivery of patient care.