Webinar: State Strategies for Using Shared Plans of Care to Improve Care Coordination for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs

Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) currently comprise nearly 20 percent or 14.6 million of the US pediatric population between ages birth to 18 years. Many CYSHCN require significant care coordination across a continuum of physical health, behavioral health, and educational supports, as well as coordination with social, financial, and community-based services and supports. To improve care coordination for CYSCHN, health care delivery systems are increasingly using of integrated health care teams, health information technology, and actionable, comprehensive plans of care, individually referred to here as a shared plan of care (SPoC). Guided by the patient and family and the child’s care team, a SPoC describes shared goals, negotiated actions, and assigns responsibility for various actions and activities to address the diverse needs of the child or youth with special health care needs, both medical and non-medical. Adopting SPoCs as an expected aspect of chronic care can enhance patient- and family-centered health care delivery and overcome some of the barriers to controlling costs and ensuring quality.
This national webinar featured a national overview by Jeanne McAllister, an expert from the Indiana University School of Medicine, and presentations from representatives from Oregon and Iowa, two states that have implemented SPoC for CYSHCN.