Quality Management at Med First
Putting a high priority on quality healthcare means ensuring that your Med First healthcare team works with you to prevent illness and improve your long-term wellness. We focus on healthcare services where improvements can make a meaningful difference in your life for now, and for your future.
This means focusing on prevention and screening. Some of the preventative tests and health screenings that we keep in focus are cancer screenings such as colorectal and breast cancer, weight assessment and nutritional counseling, screening and controlling high blood pressure, diabetes, screening and management of depression and antidepressant medications, as well as ensuring access to healthcare in order to minimize unneeded visits to the ER.
We do this by coordinating and scheduling your annual check-ups, lab work, screening tests, appointment reminders, and medication refills.
In short, the focus of the Quality Department at Med First is you! We do our best to ensure that you receive excellent healthcare and that we keep you on schedule for important preventative screenings as well as routine physicals and anything in between!
Measures
Breast cancer Screening
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers, and is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. There is a 1 in 8 chance that a woman in the United States will develop breast cancer sometime in her life. Women between 40 and 44 can start screening with a mammogram every year. Women 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year and women older than 55 can switch to a mammogram every other year, or continue yearly mammograms. To help you stay on schedule, we remind you when you are due, order the test, bring a mobile mammogram bus on Saturdays, and even schedule you!
Colorectal cancer Screening
Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women and should be done whether there are symptoms or not. The American Cancer Society recently lowered the recommended age for colorectal cancer screening from 50 to 45 years old because colorectal cancers are on the rise among young and middle-aged people. Our quality department will remind you of when you are due and get the appropriate test ordered for you. We follow up with you every step of the way until your results are in!
Blood Pressure Monitoring
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Blood pressure is measured using two numbers: Systolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats, and diastolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats. We monitor your readings, work with you to make lifestyle changes and when appropriate, ensure you have the medication you need to control your blood pressure. We make it our goal to help you keep your blood pressure within a healthy range.
Diabetes Care
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. If you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes as well as it should. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. We aim to prevent additional health problems by monitoring your blood sugar, reminding you and scheduling you for regular A1c testing, and ensuring that you have the medication you need to control your blood sugar.
Well-child visits
Even if your child isn’t due for vaccines, be sure to bring him or her in for a well-child visit once a year. These visits give your child’s healthcare provider a chance to find and treat any concerns early, track growth and development, and talk about your child’s development. You can discuss your child’s milestones, social behaviors, learning and discuss any concerns you may have. Our teams will notify you when your child is due for a checkup, get you scheduled, and coordinate any additional care or vaccines that are needed.
Annual Wellness Visits- AWV's
AWVs focus on preventive care and long-term needs. During these visits, thorough assessments of risk factors are completed while also having important discussions on wellness and advance care planning. At this visit, your Doctor will develop or update a personalized prevention plan to help prevent disease and disability, based on your current health and risk factors. These visits are covered once a year, at no out-of-pocket cost to you. For your convenience, our quality team will call you to remind you when you are due for your visit. We get you scheduled for either an in-person visit, virtual visit, or telephonic visit, depending on what works for you!
Welcome to Medicare Visits
Medicare Part B covers a “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit once within the first 12 months you have Part B. You pay nothing for this preventive visit and the Part B deductible doesn’t apply. This visit includes a review of your medical and social history related to your health and education and counseling about preventive services. There is no out-of-pocket cost for this visit but there is a benefit to you, so our quality team goes the extra step to contact you and get you scheduled.
Medication Management & reconciliation (Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Depression)
The goal of medication management is to ensure that any prescription or non-prescription drugs and supplements that you are taking are safe and are an effective treatment. It is important to periodically review dosages and make any needed adjustments based on recent health updates or changes. This is done in order to meet healthcare goals, reduce side effects as well as avoid drug interactions. We review medications to ensure that you are not only taking the most appropriate medication for you but also the most cost-effective. In partnership with licensed Pharmacists, we may suggest a change in dose, medication, frequency and also ensure you refill your medications on schedule. Medication management is done with your short as well as long-term health in mind.
Hospital- Inpatient & outpatient follow up and coordination of care
If you have been hospitalized, it is very important to follow up with your primary care provider once discharged. After hospitalization, you are at a higher risk of being readmitted due to complications or issues with medications. At Med First, our Quality team will contact you within a few days of being discharged to schedule your follow-up visit. At this visit, we review discharge instructions, labs, tests, identify new/worsening symptoms since discharge, and submit referrals or schedule needed appointments. We will also perform a medication reconciliation which means that we review your pre-and post-hospital medication regimen. Our Quality team will continue to follow up with you via phone calls to ensure that you are on your way to healing.
Our Quality Management Leadership
Dana Wolf
Quality Director
Karina
Quality Lead – Medicare
Stephanie
Quality Lead – Commercial
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I have never been to Med First but want to get cancer screening?
For any patient, whether you are new or have been to us before, Med First can help! Our dedicated team of healthcare professionals is here for you! Just call us or schedule your own appointment using our secure patient portal to establish care at one of our many locations across the Carolinas. Please make sure you talk to your doctor about symptoms you are having or pertinent family history at your appointment, and our team will schedule the necessary tests.
Who is the quality team and why are they calling me?
The Quality Team at Med First focuses on preventative services and managing chronic disease. They consist of specialized and highly trained individuals who are tasked with your immediate and long-term health. Amongst other reasons, they may reach out to you if you are due for a cancer screening, a physical exam, a medication refill, or a follow-up on blood pressure, diabetes, or depression. They schedule your referrals and tests as well as follow-ups to ensure that our providers receive and discuss the results of any testing with you. If you have received a call from our Quality Team, please do return their call. After all, their focus is you!
I just got home from a hospitalization. Why is Med First calling me?
Med First has team members who specialize in following up with our patients who have recently been discharged from the hospital. We are calling to ensure you are recovering and to get you scheduled for a follow-up visit with your Med First provider. We place a high priority on hospitalization aftercare because we know that after being in the hospital, new or discontinued medications need to be reviewed, additional testing or referrals may be necessary, and we need to ensure that you are getting better, not worse. If you have recently been discharged from the hospital and have been contacted by Med First, please give us a callback. Our ultimate goal is to care for you!
I am concerned about colorectal cancer. How do I get screened?
At Med First, one of our priorities is getting you the cancer screening you need, which includes screening for colon and rectal cancer or colorectal cancer. If you have had symptoms, have a family history, or are just concerned, you can set up an appointment at any of our locations by scheduling yourself online, calling our dedicated call center, or even reaching out to our Quality department to find out how to get started. Please don’t delay your testing; contact us today; it could save your life!
I received a call to schedule a Mammogram. Is it covered by insurance?
If Med First has contacted you regarding a mammogram, you are due! It is very important to stay on schedule for your breast cancer screenings as we know that women have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. Med First will schedule your mammogram appointment if you need us to and ensure that you are either scheduled for a follow-up or notified of the results. We partner with Invision Diagnostics, which processes the screening through your insurance and also ensures that the new mammogram is compared to your previous images. If Med First has contacted you regarding your mammogram, don’t delay returning our call. Mammograms ARE covered by insurance, and they do save lives!