2006 Priority Health Quality Award Winner

Port City Pediatrics, PLC
As in any small- to medium-sized business, strong leadership and efficient organization are two keys to success for Port City Pediatrics, a practice caring for more than 2,300 Priority Health members. Pat Swartzlander, office manager, and Sheryl Townsend, director of records/privacy officer, have built a system that reduces errors, helps staff meet targeted measures and allows the six physicians to concentrate on practicing medicine.

It starts with clearly defining the roles, responsibilities and expectations for each employee. Manuals detailing job responsibilities are provided for each area of the practice - billing, floor nurses, records, etc. - and front-office employees are cross-trained, which allows them to fill in where and when needed.

"It's every department doing their thing right from the beginning when they [members] come in," says Townsend. "Everybody knows what is expected and what they need."

Checking and double checking each patient's records, especially immunizations, is emphasized in order to maximize the effectiveness of each visit. The staff uses the MCIR and Priority Health's Patient Profile to ensure that children receive the shots they need. If a patient is behind on immunizations, parents receive phone calls and, if necessary, a postcard.
This "immunization process" is an example of how the practice has delegated tasks to the staff, allowing the physicians to focus on patient care.

"I'm here to make it work for them," says Swartzlander. "My job is to make their job easy. I want them to be able to come in, practice medicine and say, 'I didn't have all the headaches I used to have.'" In this case, fewer headaches means better care for Priority Health members.