More coffee anyone? (CPCI, Part 2)

We told you last day that we now know the names and locations of 500 primary care practices in seven states involved in the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative. Understanding the significance of this announcement is tied to knowing something about the purpose of the initiative. Below, I've taken only two of six things the PCPs are being incentivized to do:

Deliver Preventive Care: Primary care practices will be able to proactively assess their patients to determine their needs and provide appropriate and timely preventive care. 

Coordinate Care Across the Medical Neighborhood: Primary care is the first point of contact for many patients, and takes the lead in coordinating care as the center of patients’ experiences with medical care. Under this initiative, primary care doctors and nurses will work together and with a patient’s other health care providers and the patient to make decisions as a team. Access to and meaningful use of electronic health records should be used to support these efforts.

The first point emphasizes preventive care, which Optometry in particular is all about. Prevention is a major tenet of healthcare reform because it lowers cost. Therefore, we should have no doubt that healthcare reform is relevant to Optometry.

Second, "other health care providers". That also includes you ... but provided you are plugged into the meaningful use of electronic health records. 

EHRs are not an end in themselves. You gather data in EHRs in order to share it. You share it in order to participate. Participate in what? Coordinated care. Why? As we'll see next day, coordinated care will become the predominant payment model. Without the ability to participate in team-based care delivery, you will lose access to your patients.

Alistair Jackson, M.Ed.
Jim Grue, O.D.