Medical Home Network expanding innovative health care model to Cook County's safety net population

CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Medical Home Network's (MHN) innovative model for coordinating care and utilization of web-based technology to improve health care delivery was expanded to the entire Cook County Health and Hospitals System's (CCHHS) Medicaid managed care population thanks to a vote by the CCHHS Board of Directors, MHN announced today.

"Cook County is at a time in our history when we must find new and innovative ways to address the health care needs and challenges of our patient population, while continuing to reduce the cost of care," said Dr. Jay Shannon, chief executive officer of CCHHS. "Our board's decision to continue our partnership with MHN is one of the ways we will be working to achieve that objective. I look forward to the results we will achieve together through growing the role of MHN."

MHN and CCHHS have successfully partnered to deliver better, more efficient health care to approximately 150,000 patients enrolled in CCHHS's managed care plan, CountyCare. Today, CCHHS expands MHN's connectivity to include all of the CountyCare population and services provided by, as allowed by law, mental health providers, substance abuse providers, immediate and urgent care centers, and Cermak Health Services, which provides health care to the 9,000 detainees at the Cook County Department of Corrections. Connecting the broader county medical system of hospitals, clinics and primary care providers enables better care management for patients within the CountyCare system.

"We are excited to continue building on our partnership with the Cook County Health and Hospitals Systems as we expand MHNConnect to more broadly connect vital parts of the health care system," said Cheryl Lulias, president and executive director of Medical Home Network. "Our partnership has been uniquely successful due to a shared commitment to improve the health outcomes of a growing safety net patient population while reducing the cost of care."

MHNConnect is a secure, web-based portal that shares real-time patient information between doctors, hospitals, and clinics and integrates historical health records into one platform to allow for coordination of patient care. MHNConnect generates a real-time alert if a patient is hospitalized and notifies their primary care provider and their care coordinator to provide for timely follow-up care, reducing the probability that the patient will need to be readmitted to the hospital.  

MHN currently connects 197 clinics, 21 hospitals, more than 1,600 primary care providers, and more than 150,000 patients in some of Cook County's most vulnerable communities. Since July 2014, MHN has provided more than 1.6 million real-time alerts, facilitated approximately 1,300 follow-up appointments per month, and enabled approximately 100,000 transitions of care for CountyCare members.  

By enhancing collaboration, communication and integration across this network, MHN significantly reduces the number of hospital admissions and improves overall health outcomes for patients at safety net health centers like Esperanza Health Centers on Chicago's Southwest Side.

"More than half the residents in our service area experience significant economic, educational, and health disparities," said Chief Executive Officer Dan Fulwiler of Esperanza Health Centers, a founding partner of MHN. "Our partnership with MHN has been invaluable in improving health care delivery for our patients."

MHN's model resulted in a 130.4 percent increase in timely patient follow-up visits, a 25 percent decrease in 30-day hospital readmissions, and a decrease in the overall cost of care for each patient for Esperanza Health Centers.

"MHN is committed to applying our proven, technology-enabled model and track record of results for the entire CountyCare population," continued Lulias.

About Medical Home Network

Medical Home Network is a 501(c)3 non-profit Chicago-based health care collaborative devoted to transforming health care delivery for Chicago Medicaid patients by fostering collaboration and innovation among safety net providers.  The Medical Home Network collaborative consists of leaders from 12 health care organizations, who continue to have an equal voice in decision-making at Medical Home Network. In addition, Medical Home Network has grown its connectivity to 21 hospitals and more than 170 primary care entities, using MHNConnect to enable information exchange among disparate providers and monitoring of patient hospital utilization by care managers. The Medical Home Network portal captures 60 percent of CountyCare member patient activity as it occurs, benefitting the overall health care for almost 170,000 CountyCare patients. The MHN ACO, a provider-owned LLC, was launched as one of CountyCare's network of providers in August of 2014. More information is available at www.MHNChicago.org.

About CountyCare

In 2012, Cook County's Health & Hospitals System formed CountyCare enrolling newly eligible Medicaid patients under the Affordable Care Act.  CountyCare has evolved into a managed care community network of locally owned and operated managed care organizations, enrolling patients who are eligible for Medicaid coverage. More information about CountyCare is available at www.CountyCare.com.

SOURCE Medical Home Network

Related Links

http://www.MHNChicago.org