 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Clinics pilot Primary Care Renewal projects
Providers focus on strengthening relationships between clinical teams and patients
By Maileen Hamto, CareOregon Communications Writer
Leading the way toward transforming primary care delivery, CareOregon is partnering with several provider clinics in piloting the “medical home” primary care model.
Participants in the Primary Care Renewal (PCR) pilot project include: Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center- Cornelius Clinic; Central City Concern; Legacy Emanuel Clinic; and OHSU Richmond Clinic.
“The pilot sites have already done a lot of work moving toward the new model. Most are in the process of identifying teams in the pilot clinics that will develop the new model based on their populations’ needs,” says David Labby, M.D., CareOregon’s medical director.
Inspired by the clinical team-based approach in providing primary care that has worked so well in Alaska’s South Central Foundation (SCF), the PCR initiative is part of CareOregon’s Care Support and System Innovation (CSSI) program that empowers providers with the skills, knowledge and resources to be able to create substantial change in health care delivery.
"Our providers–like most providers–are frustrated by the way they’re forced to work and deliver care by the nation's current system," says David. According to David, assigning a panel of patients to clinical teams "will deepen team-patient relationships, allowing more personalized, effective care and allowing the clinical team to focus on maximizing care for a defined population."
"Providers working in a team will be responsible for doing the things they do best. There’s much more division of labor, so providers are better able to effectively take care of patients," David says.
Pilot site providers will implement a new model of primary care based on the SCF paradigm, developing optimal new work flows, skills and technologies and exploring new ways for CareOregon to support and spread this model. SCF is recognized worldwide for their success in focusing on building strong patient-provider relationships, resulting in lasting behavior change.
Clinics piloting the PCR initiative serve very different and very diverse populations. Virginia Garcia’s Cornelius clinic serves a large Spanish-speaking population, primarily comprised of women and children. Central City Concern deals mainly with adults who have a history of chemical dependency, homelessness and mental health issues.
Legacy Internal Medicine at Emanuel Hospital serves the neighborhoods of Northeast Portland with a large African-American population. OHSU Richmond is a family medicine clinic that serves ethnically diverse neighborhoods of Southeast Portland.
“These clinics serve populations with distinct cultural differences. All have different ways to care for patients. Their biggest challenge is to apply the medical home model in a way that fits the needs of their providers and patients,” David says.
The medical home primary care model establishes high-functioning clinical teams that will allow more patients to receive the care they need. Teams will manage patient panels to deliver proactive care. Feedback from stakeholders will be solicited on an ongoing basis.
Participating clinics will work collaboratively throughout the year, sharing lessons learned to spread improvement knowledge and skills, says Diana Wolford, CSSI Program Coordinator. "We’re pleased with the level of commitment and enthusiasm the clinics are bringing to this project. They are investing huge amounts of time to ensure success of the pilot project," Diana says.
The clinics already are making strides in rolling out the PCR project. The Central City Concern team is working toward an open access system to enable them to see patients that have urgent needs on the same day. Virginia Garcia’s Cornelius clinic recently held focus groups among their patients to help identify priorities. "They’ve reconfigured all providers, and rapidly moving to a team structure. They’re also looking at how to best make use of the MediTracks disease registry system," says David.
Sarah Rosengrant, CareOregon process improvement coordinator, works alongside primary care renewal teams to ensure they have the support they need in sharing information and executing project plans. Sarah took on the "information broker" role in April, and is eager to continue establishing meaningful connections with the teams.
She says she is impressed with the work accomplished by the teams thus far. "The clinics are making great progress in developing new processes, and most are working on defining or hiring for new positions. It's quite a bit of work for everyone, but all the teams are very invested in the project and are committed to implementing the changes," Sarah says.
For more information about the Primary Care Renewal project, contact Sally Retecki by calling 503-416-1709 or via e-mail.
