Quality and Measurement
FEATURED ARTICLE
The Promise and Pitfalls of State-Based Payment Reform
/in Policy Webinars Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Medicaid Managed Care, Quality and Measurement /by NASHPFriday, February 27, 2015: Many states across the nation are in the process of designing and implementing multi-payer payment reform initiatives. The goals of these initiatives are to improve patient experience, improve the health of populations, and reduce health care costs. This webinar addresses how current payment reform models can help fix our broken health care delivery system and assist states to achieve the Triple Aim. However, along the payment transformation journey, are there potential pitfalls of payment reform models that states should look out for and avoid?
Population Health Components of State Innovation Model (SIM) Plans: Round 2 Model Testing States
/in Policy Accountable Health, Behavioral/Mental Health and SUD, Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Community Health Workers, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Equity, Health System Costs, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement, Social Determinants of Health /by NASHP*Chart updated March 6, 2015 The Round Two State Innovation Model (SIM) Test Awards granted by HHS to eleven states (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington) support state efforts to build multi-payer models of health system transformation. As noted in a previous analysis, population health improvement is […]
A Day in the Life of Local Care Coordinator Michele Brown in the CareFirst Patient-Centered Medical Home Program
/in Policy Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement /by NASHP StaffDesigning a successful PCMH program involves policy decisions that create new provider and patient expectations, incentives, and infrastructure to support patient-centered care. An integral feature of the CareFirst PCMH program is the development of a care coordination infrastructure at the central, regional, and local level. Much of the work at the local level is done […]
Transforming the Workforce to Provide Better Chronic Care: The Role of Local Care Coordinators at CareFirst
/in Policy District Of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia Reports Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement, Workforce Capacity /by Mary Takach and Susan ReinhardPart 6 in the Transforming the Workforce to Provide Better Chronic Care: The Role of Registered Nurses series. Click to see the rest of the series. CareFirst, a commercial insurer serving Maryland, northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia, utilizes local nurse care coordinators to support primary care providers within its patient-centered medical home program. […]
Australian Policymakers Taking Cues from ‘Shark Tank’ on Disruptive Innovation
/in Policy Blogs Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement /by Mary TakachWalkabout Medical Homes with Mary Takach: A 10-month Study of Australia January 2015 Many people are familiar with the U.S. television show, Shark Tank, where budding entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to a panel of industry giants or “sharks,” ultimately convincing one or more of them to invest. Imagine taking a similar premise and adopting it as […]
Medical Homes & Patient-Centered Care Maps
/in Policy Maps Care Coordination, CHIP, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement /by adminIdentifying Value in Multi-Payer Reform: The Nuts and Bolts of Quality Measurement
/in Policy Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Quality and Measurement, Value-Based Purchasing /by NASHP and Tess ShirasStates across the nation are transitioning their health care systems from fee-for-service to payment models that reward quality and positive outcomes. Public and private payers are moving towards paying for value over volume. But, how do states define high quality? What, precisely, are health insurance carriers rewarding? States and federal agencies are developing aligned measure […]
A Day in the Life of Nurse Planner Joan Kindt in the Minnesota Health Care Home Program
/in Policy Minnesota Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Community Health Workers, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Long-Term Care, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement, Workforce Capacity /by NASHP StaffHealth care reform goals established by the Minnesota Legislature call for all Minnesotans to have access to patient-centered care, accessible, comprehensive, and coordinated primary care. The HCH program is the path to these goals. Becoming a health care home (HCH) in Minnesota means adopting “an approach to primary care in which primary care providers, families, […]
Transforming the Workforce to Provide Better Care: The Role of Nurses in Certifying Minnesota Health Care Homes
/in Policy Minnesota Reports Care Coordination, Chronic and Complex Populations, Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Community Health Workers, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health System Costs, Physical and Behavioral Health Integration, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement, Workforce Capacity /by Mary TakachPart 4 in the Transforming the Workforce to Provide Better Chronic Care: The Role of Registered Nurses series. Click to see the rest of the series. Minnesota Health Care Homes (HCH), a patient-centered medical home initiative, utilizes regionally-based nurse planners to ensure that HCH practices are meeting specific standards of care that aim to foster […]
Financing Prevention: How States are Balancing Delivery System & Public Health Roles
/in Policy Reports Accountable Health, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health Coverage and Access, Health Equity, Health System Costs, Population Health, Primary Care/Patient-Centered/Health Home, Quality and Measurement, Quality and Measurement, Safety Net Providers and Rural Health, Social Determinants of Health, Value-Based Purchasing /by Carla Plaza, Abigail Arons, Jill Rosenthal and Felicia HeiderThis report, developed by the National Academy for State Health Policy and produced by ChangeLab Solutions, highlights leading states’ approaches to support community-based prevention initiatives by bridging the health care delivery and public health systems. It examines various mechanisms – both previously existing and created through health reform – that states can leverage to implement […]
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. 
Hospital Transparency: State Efforts Reveal More Comprehensive Financial Data than Current Federal Requirements
/in Health System Costs Blogs, Featured News Home Consumer Affordability, Cost, Payment, and Delivery Reform, Health System Costs, Hospital/Health System Oversight, Making the Case for Action, Quality and Measurement, Value-Based Purchasing /by Amanda Attiya and Maureen Hensley-QuinnFederal efforts to increase hospital price transparency are falling short as hospitals fail to fully comply with requirements. However, states with transparency laws that give them access to comprehensive hospital financial data are using the pricing information to more fully analyze hospitals’ fiscal health and inform states’ cost containment efforts.