By Raquel Daisy

Fort Worth, TEXAS (October 5, 2011) – North Texas Specialty Physicians (NTSP) is committed to delivering quality care to patients in North Texas. NTSP physician Dr. Peter McDougall has taken his commitment to quality care a step further with his nationally recognized medical practice.

Born and raised in Canada, Dr. McDougall grew up in a family of physicians – his brother and father are both family doctors. His educational background includes an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto; medical studies at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada; a family practice residency at Calgary General Hospital and graduate studies in Healthcare Management at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Great neighborhoods and the friendly people attracted McDougall to Fort Worth in 1977 where he opened his private family practice and has lived ever since. While serving as Medical Director for another group, he became familiar with NTSP through different projects and initiatives. “NTSP was seen as the A-team in the community,” said Dr. McDougall. “I was impressed with their delivery system and wanted to be a part of that.” In 2000, he made the decision to join the independent physician association.

An NTSP physician initiative about improving care delivery and a desire to ensure he was providing the best possible care for his patients sparked McDougall to have his practice and delivery system evaluated by an independent party. “NCQA recognition is considered the gold standard in family practice,” said Dr. McDougall. “If I was going to do something, I might as well do the standard.”

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. Since its founding in 1990, NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of healthcare organizations. The organization’s Patient-centered Medical Home Program (PCMH) gives practices a set of standards on organizing care around patients, working in teams and coordinating and tracking care over time. Practices seeking NCQA PCMH recognition are evaluated on key components of primary care.

In April 2011, Dr. McDougall’s practice received NCQA Level Three Recognition – the highest rating given by NCQA for their Patient-centered Medical Home Program (PCMH). McDougall’s practice was the first solo practice in Texas, at the time, to receive this recognition and has found it has improved the way his office operates. “This recognition evaluates the whole practice, from the patients to the office staff, everyone is working together to deliver quality care,” said McDougall. “Our patients have been very pleased and feel a part of the process due to this recognition.”

The NCQA PCMH recognition gives patients a trusted way to evaluate the health care they receive. “You do this [NCQA recognition] because you have an interest in the healthcare delivery system,” said McDougall. “Patients are going to want to see hard evidence that physicians have a care delivery system that does what physicians say it does. This recognition evaluates a practice as a whole and provides a way for patients to gain access to an individual practice.”

Dr. McDougall is board certified in family medicine and is the Medical Director at Gordian Health Management Group – his private practice in Fort Worth. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, snow skiing and spending time at the YMCA. McDougall has been a member of NTSP since 2000 and is a participating provider in the Care N’ Care Medicare Advantage health plans. For more information about NCQA, visit www.ncqa.org. For more information about NTSP, visit www.ntsp.com.