Martin's Point Gets High Marks from the Northeast Healthcare Quality Foundation

Voluntary review finds that congestive heart failure patients at Martin's Point are well educated about managing their disease

PORTLAND, Maine - The peer review organization for Medicare has given Martin's Point Health Care high marks for its care of patients with congestive heart failure.

Martin's Point recently volunteered to take part in an assessment by the Northeast Healthcare Quality Foundation, which reviewed the charts of Martin's Point patients who have congestive heart failure and compared the findings with other practices in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. The foundation, based in Dover, N.H., found that Martin's Point patients were well educated about the management of their disease, a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body's other organs.

The independent findings, for example, showed that Martin's Point excelled in patient instruction about medication use and patient activities. In addition to these core strengths, the foundation studied a group of the patients enrolled in a disease-focused management program at Martin's Point and found additional strengths in the areas of patient education. For example, the patients knew how to monitor their weight and symptoms, and what to do if their symptoms worsened.

"This review clearly demonstrated our success helping patients manage congestive heart failure," said Dr. Jan Wnek, M.D., medical director of Martin's Point Health Care, the state's largest not-for-profit primary care practice. "It's a particularly important assessment because it was conducted by an independent, respected third-party. And we were especially pleased that it showed we're doing a good job in the area of patient instruction as that's part of our core philosophy and approach here at Martin's Point, to have patients involved in their health and treatment to bring about the best result."

For more information about congestive heart failure from the American Heart Association, visit online at: http://www.americanheart.org/Heart_and_Stroke_A_Z_Guide/congest.html.

In addition, Martin's Point's Health Education Center will hold Healthy Heart classes from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sept. 11, 18 and 25 at 331 Veranda St. in Portland. Throughout the year, the center offers visitors a variety of resource materials, such as publications and videos, and classes that focus on a host of topics, ranging from weight management and smoking cessation to the management of diseases such as diabetes.

Established in 1981, Martin's Point is a not-for-profit health care provider with facilities in Portland, Brunswick and Windham, Maine, and in Portsmouth, N.H. The largest primary care practice in Maine, Martin's Point has a staff of more than 300 health care professionals and serves 54,000 patients under all major health plans, including military retirees and dependents of active military personnel. Martin's Point serves patients in the areas of family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, cardiology, and mammography, as well as other fields.

In addition, Martin's Point is known for its innovative approach to health care. Unique to Martin's Point is its online communication program called Patient's Personal Points, which allows patients to communicate via a secure server with their doctors to schedule appointments, ask medical questions and obtain prescription renewals. The program won a national technology award from the Healthcare Innovations in Technology Systems (HITS) Partnership in Technology national awards program. For additional information on Martin's Point Health Care, visit them online at http://www.martinspoint.org.

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