The Commonwealth Fund, New York, a private foundation, in collaboration with eight cofunders, is introducing a national Safety Net Medical Home Initiative, which will provide $6 million to help 68 community health centers in five states transform into patient-centered medical homes, according to the organization. Health centers in Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Pennsylvania will be given training and ongoing support to improve how they deliver care to patients, the group says.

The initiative is being led by Qualis Health, Seattle, a quality improvement organization, according to Commonwealth. Working closely with the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation, Qualis Health will support health centers’ efforts to improve the coordination of information between primary care and specialty care or community providers, use information technology to identify patients with unmet needs, improve care for those with chronic conditions, and systematically obtain feedback from patients for quality improvement, Commonwealth says. According to Commonwealth, the medical home model has shown promise as a way to provide high-quality, cost-effective health care to low-income and minority patients while reducing racial and ethnic health disparities.

The goals of the initiative are to transform these health centers, which serve more than 500,0000 patients annually, and to promote state policies that will ensure that the model is sustained and spread throughout each state, says Commonwealth. It is anticipated that at the end of the initial grant period, all 68 health centers will be recognized as replicable models of excellence, according to Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Fund is joined in support of the project by eight co-funders, including the Colorado Health Foundation, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, Northwest Health Foundation, Partners HealthCare, The Boston Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Click here to read the entire story.

[Source: The Commonwealth Fund]