Hudson Valley Initiative Leadership Praises Administration's Commitment to Care Coordination and Advanced Primary Care

HVI's own care coordination efforts provide a model for transforming the delivery of health care; a new issue brief documents this success and outlines what lies ahead

FISHKILL, N.Y., Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leadership supporting the Hudson Valley Initiative applauds today's announcement from CMS Administrator Don Berwick as it clearly affirms the Administration's commitment to care coordination as a value-driving element of advanced primary care.

"It's gratifying to see the Administration recognize that innovations have been taking place in local markets and then move ahead to building on those successes," said Susan Stuard, executive director of Taconic Health Information Network and Community (THINC).

A. John Blair, III, MD, president and CEO of Taconic IPA, also praised the announcement. "Care coordination is the next logical step as we move toward models of advanced primary care," he said. "Coordinated care is essential to delivering on the promise of the patient-centered medical home."

Both Stuard and Blair noted that the initiatives announced today dovetail with efforts already underway in the Hudson Valley.

In fact, 236 primary care providers achieved National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Level 3 recognition as patient-centered medical homes. Sixty-four more area providers will apply for NCQA recognition this year.

Building on this foundation, THINC, in partnership with Taconic IPA, seeks to create a model of embedded care management within medical homes.  THINC and Taconic IPA will work together to introduce to the Hudson Valley a model that has generated significant and proven improvements in quality and efficiency. The Geisinger ProvenHealth program will be tailored to meet the specific needs of this region and implemented in order to achieve similar results. Geisinger itself will offer technical support and guidance.

"We believe this program will generate significant improvements in cost and quality of care for high-risk patients,  helping to ensure that the right care is delivered at the right time in the right setting," Stuard said.

Moreover, the effort will have national importance. The Geisinger model has been—appropriately—applauded for its results, but it has never been implemented outside of an integrated health service organization.  "We have the opportunity to test the generalizability of the program and its applicability in an open community with a more diverse, complex health care landscape, at the physician practice level," she said. "With Geisinger's assistance, we plan to launch a model of care coordination unlike anything else in the country."

The program will start with pilots at six sites, with the ultimate goal of rolling out to 300 primary care providers across 72 sites in the community.

Care coordination brief released

Care coordination is also the subject of the most recent Hudson Valley issue brief.

Pursuing care coordination, Hudson Valley Initiative fulfills the promise of the medical home, the third of the Hudson Valley Initiative's series of issue briefs, explores how health care leaders in the region took on care coordination issue as part of an ongoing effort to transform care delivery. The brief discusses current and ongoing projects, addresses reimbursement issues and includes specific examples of how physicians are coordinating care. To download the brief, go to http://0101.nccdn.net/1_5/35f/24c/1b6/HVIissuebrief3.FINALhighres.pdf.

More information on the Hudson Valley Initiative's ideas and initiatives to improve health care quality can be found at www.hudsonvalleyinitiative.com.

About the Hudson Valley Initiative

The Hudson Valley Initiative is an effort among three organizations—Taconic IPA, Taconic Health Information Network and Community and MedAllies—to revolutionize health care delivery through a shared vision to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care in the community. These three organizations leverage health information technology, physician practice transformation and value-based purchasing in pursuit of care delivery that is patient-centered, coordinated, accessible, high quality and efficiently delivered through sustainable financial models. To learn more, go to http://www.hudsonvalleyinitiative.com.

SOURCE Hudson Valley Initiative