Just Do It… Better: Improving Care for People  with Complex Conditions

As health reform implementation moves forward nationally, there is a focus on the “triple aim” in health care – improving population health, enhancing the patient experience of care, and reducing, or at least controlling, the cost of care. In an environment where state budgets are increasingly stretched, there is even more pressure to use limited health care resources effectively. Many demonstration projects seeking to achieve the triple aim are underway throughout the U.S., with a focus on identifying patients with complex health conditions that may benefit from new approaches to care and management. Typically, such patients have multiple chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and asthma. In California, individuals with multiple chronic conditions, who represent 20% of the population, account for 60% of the state’s health care expenditures. New efforts to improve care for such individuals involve a wider variety of health care personnel (e.g., primary care providers, social workers, pharmacists, health coaches/advocates) and providers of related services (e.g., community support, housing, transportation), the use of more intensive personal contact via telephone or other technology, and innovative approaches to information sharing among care team members.

 This briefing will provide an overview of the opportunities to address the financial and health burdens of chronic disease through health reform efforts nationally and in California. Speakers will describe efforts underway in communities across the country to improve care and manage costs for these individuals, including a case study of San Diego’s Right Care Initiative. Finally, the briefing will highlight the role that long-term services and supports play in addressing needs of individuals with chronic illness, as well as best practices and policy opportunities to address system fragmentation and achieve the triple aim.

• Sophia Chang, MD, MPH, director, Better Chronic Disease Care program, California HealthCare Foundation
• Liz Helms, Chair, California Chronic Care Coalition
• Sarah Steenhausen, MS, Senior Policy Advisor, The SCAN Foundation

This presentation is open to the public. Reservations are recommended.

Agenda and background materials will be available at www.cahpf.org

The California Health Policy Forum is an initiative of the Center for Health Improvement. Funding is provided by grants from the California HealthCare Foundation and The California Wellness Foundation.