Article Contributed on: 3/14/2007 4:16:54 PM
New West Physicians, a primary-care group practice serving more than 250,000 Front Range patients, announced that two of its Evergreen doctors have been awarded recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Heart/Stroke Recognition Program.
A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that Colorado enjoys one of the country's lowest rates of heart disease. However, cardiovascular disease remains the state's number one cause of death, and death rates from strokes have not declined according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The Heart/Stroke Recognition Program is co-sponsored by NCQA, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association and recognizes the physicians for providing quality care to patients with cardiovascular disease or who have had a stroke.
"Heart disease and stroke seriously impact the lives of our patients and their families, and New West Physicians is thrilled that these doctors have earned recognition through the Heart/Stroke Recognition Program," said Ruth Benton, CEO of New West Physicians. "Quality patient care is our highest priority, and as primary care physicians we focus on delivering care that is both tailored to each patient's lifestyle and supported through the best medical evidence."
New West regularly measures the quality of care delivered to patients including preventive care, screenings, and disease management. To earn the three-year recognition, New West submitted data for each physician demonstrating performance meeting the Heart/Stroke Recognition Program's key cardiovascular and stroke care measures, which include blood pressure, tobacco cessation, cholesterol control and use of specific medications. People with cardiovascular disease or who have had a stroke and who receive quality care as outlined by these measures are less likely to suffer additional complications, such a second heart attack or stroke.
Following are the local New West Physicians doctors who have earned the three-year recognition along with their dates of recognition:
Evergreen Internal Medicine, 30940 Stage Coach Blvd., Ste. 270E in Evergreen
Dr. Ken Cohen - Oct. 19, 2006 to Oct. 19, 2009
Dr. Anne McLean - Oct. 19, 2006 to Oct. 19, 2009
The Heart/Stroke Recognition Program was designed to improve the quality of care for people with cardiovascular disease or who have had a stroke by recognizing physicians who deliver quality cardiovascular and stroke care and motivating other physicians to document and improve their delivery of cardiovascular and stroke care.
To find out if your physician has been recognized by the Heart/Stroke Recognition Program or learn more about the program, please visit www.ncqa.org/HSRP.
About New West Physicians
New West Physicians is a primary care group practice and medical management company with 43 physicians and seven mid-level practitioners at 14 office locations that serve 250,000 patients in the Denver metro area. Within this group of professionals, 33 practice family medicine and 17 practice internal medicine. For additional information and office locations, please visit www.nwphysicians.com.
About NCQA
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA is the nation's leading developer of health care evaluation tools including health plan accreditation, physician recognition and organization certification. NCQA also is responsible for the evolution of HEDIS®, the most widely used set of health care performance measures. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health choices. For more information, visit www.ncqa.org.