Funding to be used to assist clinical practice transformation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2015
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DENVER, CO – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that Colorado’s Collaborative for Practice Transformation is one of 39 health care collaborative networks selected to participate in the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative. Colorado will receive up to $11 million over the next four years to provide technical assistance to help equip clinicians throughout Colorado with tools, information, and network support needed to improve quality of care, increase patients’ access to information, and spend health care dollars more wisely.
Colorado’s Collaborative for Practice Transformation is a partnership of public and private entities under the leadership of the Governor’s Office.
The healthcare collaborative network includes some of the most prominent experts and organizations involved in practice transformation in the United States and is designed to support 140,000 clinician practices nationally over the next four years, 2,000 practices in Colorado. Practice facilitation is key for assisting these clinicians and practices implement organizational changes, improving their incorporation of evidence-based programs into practice operations and increasing sustainability.
“Supporting doctors and other health care professionals change the way they work is critical to improving quality and spending our health care dollars more wisely,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell. “These awards will give patients more of the information they need to make informed decisions about their care and give clinicians access to information and support to improve care coordination and quality outcomes.”
"This funding provides us with another tool in our work to becoming the healthiest state in the nation, and allows us to further engage and support doctors and health care professionals in the transformation of how health care is delivered to Coloradans," said Gov. John Hickenlooper.
“This grant will help transform practices into being more client centered and will help empower clients to make health care decisions that move us closer to becoming the healthiest state,” said Susan E. Birch, MBA, BSN, RN, executive director for the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. “This is one more step to building a comprehensive and person-centered statewide system that addresses a broad range of health needs, while delivering the best care at the best value.”
“TCPI gives us the opportunity to provide practice support to both specialists and primary care clinicians, assisting them in working together more effectively and preparing them for new practice and payment models,” said Perry Dickinson, MD, professor of family medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who is one of the leaders working on the grant. “TCPI complements other statewide initiatives that address how health care is delivered and paid for and it should lead to better patient experiences at a lower cost.”
"We are grateful for this award and all that it means for Colorado's efforts to integrate behavioral and physical health care," said Vatsala Pathy, MA, MPAff, Director of Colorado's State Innovation Model.
Colorado received a $65 million federal SIM grant in 2014 to ensure that 80 percent of Coloradans receive care from an integrated practice by 2019. A substantial part of that work will involve supporting practices as they change the way they operate so they may provide integrated care. This TCPI grant will bolster those efforts in a significant way.
Follow this link for more information on the Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative.
About the State Innovation Model Office: The SIM initiative provides federal funding for states to develop and test their own state-based models for multi-payer payment and health care delivery system transformation. The initiative’s goal is to improve health system performance for residents of those states participating in the SIM project.
About the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing: The Department administers the Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus programs as well as a variety of other programs for low-income Coloradans who qualify. For more information about the department, please visit Colorado.gov/hcpf.