CHCS Launches Reducing Disparities at the Practice Site in Four States
October 1, 2008
Hamilton, NJ - The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) has launched the Reducing Disparities at the Practice Site (RDPS) initiative to support quality improvement in small physician practices serving racially and ethnically diverse Medicaid beneficiaries.
A large percentage of patients served by small practices tend to be racially and ethnically diverse -- a population that faces more barriers to care, greater risk of chronic disease, and higher mortality than whites. Accordingly, CHCS identified small high-volume practices as opportune sites for reducing racial and ethnic health disparities and improving overall health outcomes. State Medicaid agencies and health plans are well positioned to support these practices in improving health care quality and closing the disparities gap.
The three-year RDPS initiative, made possible by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is being launched in four states -- Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. These states were selected through a competitive, external review process. Within these states, RDPS will test the leverage that Medicaid agencies, health plans, primary care case management programs, and community-based organizations have to improve chronic care at small practices.
"Physician offices with one to three doctors serve large numbers of Medicaid patients and often lack the resources to invest in improving care," said Stephen A. Somers, CHCS President. "We believe that states and health plans can play a critical role in facilitating and sustaining improvements within these ‘high-volume, high-opportunity' practices by providing appropriate mixes of data, technology, technical support, care management resources, and capital."
Medicaid-led teams in each of the four states will help build the quality infrastructure and care management capacity of primary care practices where the greatest impact can be made. The practices will be encouraged to employ electronic tools, adopt evidence-based guidelines for targeted chronic conditions, and incorporate team-based care into their operations. CHCS will provide each team with technical assistance, as well as $200,000, to support project implementation.
Following completion of the initiative, CHCS will disseminate findings and technical resources to assist other states and health plans in driving quality improvements in the small practice setting.
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The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is a nonprofit policy resource center dedicated to improving health care quality for low-income children and adults, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, frail elders, and racially and ethnically diverse populations experiencing disparities in care. CHCS works with state and federal agencies and health plans to develop innovative programs that better serve people with complex and high-cost health care needs. For more information, visit http://www.chcs.org.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful, and timely change. For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime.
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