Pages - Maryland Department of Health to Expand Primary Care Program during Open Application Period

June 14, 2022

Media contacts:

Deidre McCabe, Director, Office of Communications, 410-767-3536

Chase Cook, Deputy Director for Media Relations, 410-767-8649

Maryland Department of Health to Expand Primary Care Program during Open Application Period

Newly enrolled primary care practices to serve approximately 30,000 Marylanders

Baltimore, MD – The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) today announced it is accepting applications from Maryland primary care practices and Care Transformation Organizations (CTOs) for participation in the Maryland Primary Care Program (MDPCP).

The MDPCP is a voluntary program providing financial and technical support to eligible Maryland primary care practices and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) for the delivery of advanced primary care. MDPCP allows primary care providers to play an expanded role in prevention, management of chronic disease, and preventing unnecessary hospital utilization. As of May 2022, 508 primary care practice locations and more than 2,150 health care providers are participating in the program serving more than 4 million Marylanders.

“The expansion of the MDPCP means more Marylanders will have access to improved care,” said MDH Secretary Dennis R. Schrader. “The expansion also means more support to primary care providers to deliver comprehensive, continuous care and further moves Maryland toward our statewide health transformation goal: building a strong, effective primary care delivery system, inclusive of medical, behavioral, and social needs.”

Participants are expected to transform the way they deliver primary care in order to provide comprehensive care management and patient-centered care. All participating practices have access to a Practice Coach, who provides ongoing assistance in meeting program requirements, and resources, such as support via meetings and webinars, an interactive Learning System, and data-driven tools to support functions like risk stratification, social needs screening, and behavioral health integration.

Eligible primary care practitioners include those who specialize in general practice, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric medicine, geriatric medicine, and co-located psychiatry. Among other requirements, eligible practices must:

Use a 2015 certified electronic health record (EHR)
Provide services to a minimum of 125 attributed Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries

The annual application period is open through midnight on Friday, July 15, 2022. Program information and the program application can be found at health.maryland.gov/MDPCP.

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The Maryland Department of Health is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement.