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Quality health care requires both an affordable office visit and affordable medicine when the doctor prescribes it. The cost of prescriptions can be prohibitive for patients, all of whom have limited income or no insurance. In partnership with the Langley Pharmacy, CCI has established a deeply discounted pharmacy program to help patients pay for prescriptions. Pharmacy technician Meybi Ruiz stands next to the most commonly prescribed drugs used by CCI patients. She and pharmacist-owner Merlyn Crandon-Enyi fill prescriptions daily to make sure patients and their families can return to good health as quickly as possible. Message from the Incoming Chair Message from the Executive Director Message from the Medical Director Performance Improvement and Program Committee Report Women, Infants and Children (WIC) 10th Anniversary
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Message from the Medical Director CCI’s clinical operations are coming together very nicely. Growth at the Freeland Family Health Center in Takoma Park has proceeded at a pace foretelling our physical space could very well be full in time for the next annual report. The number of patients seen at Gaithersburg managed to grow nominally last year, despite some limitations in terms of space and personnel. We’re expecting next year to yield some positive outcomes with the addition of an exam room and a new part-time physician. Expansion into the business of prenatal care is going to be very important for CCI, especially given the lack of services that are available in the area. Women who need prenatal and postpartum care are going to have a real option for their pregnancies in the future. And the planned expansion of the scope of services especially for women will serve growing families well. One of the major initiatives for which we must now lay the groundwork is the coming of electronic health records (EHR). Working with our colleagues at the Community Health Integrated Partnership (CHIP), we are currently evaluating different software vendors’ products to find the appropriate software package to consider. Implementing an EHR has enormous implications for workflow and will involve a re-engineering of all our clinical operations from top to bottom. Of course, any implementation is dependent on funding, but it is probably the single most important investment CCI can make at this time. With a stable and happy medical and support staff, CCI is well-positioned to move forward in expanding both the breadth and scope of our services to the people we serve in Montgomery County and the surrounding area. An EHR can only help us in our efforts to continuously raise the quality of services and ensure the utmost in patient service and safety. |
