Diane Rydrych
Diane Rydrych is the Director of the Division of Health Policy at the Minnesota Department of Health. She oversees programs that develop and implement effective policy solutions for issues ranging from adoption and effective use of health information technology, patient safety and quality, cost of care, rural healthcare infrastructure, healthcare workforce preparation, and health disparities/health equity, and implement many of Minnesota’s state health reform activities. She also leads MDH’s State Innovation Model (SIM) grant efforts, in partnership with the Department of Human Services. The SIM grant will allow Minnesota to build on its existing care delivery and payment reform efforts to move towards a vision of “accountable health” in Minnesota, in which all patients receive team-based, coordinated care, data flows between providers across settings to improve quality and lower costs, and providers are held accountable for the total health of patients.
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
