Looking at the numbers

Health care homes readiness in Minnesota

To be certified as a Health Care Home (HCH) in Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) requires clinics to meet criteria related to the five following standards.

• Access/communication. Facilitates consistent communication among the HCH and the patient and family, and provides the patient with continuous access to the HCH
• Patient tracking and registry function. Uses an electronic, searchable registry that enables the HCH to identify gaps in patient care and manage health care services
• Care coordination. Focuses on patient and family-centered care
• Care plans. For selected patients with a chronic or complex condition, that involves the patient and the patient’s family in care planning
• Performance reporting and quality improvement. To improve the quality of the patient’s experience, health outcomes, and the cost-effectiveness of services

Health Care Homes is a model for primary care in which primary care providers, families, and patients work in partnership to improve the health and quality of life for individuals, especially those with chronic and complex conditions.

MDH commissioned a survey to understand how ready providers were for this new model of primary care. The survey was sent to 707 Minnesota primary care clinics—covering family medicine, pediatrics, and internal medicine. The response rate was 53 percent.

The majority (73%) of primary care clinics self-reported having some of the components of health care homes already implemented in their clinics. Of those clinics, 76 percent were urban and 24 percent were rural.

Minnesota has put a lot of effort into public reporting and quality improvement, so it’s no surprise that the majority of clinics (71%) reported having most of these criteria in place. By contrast, meeting the standards for care plans and care coordination will require the greatest amount of work.

As of April 2010, 354 clinicians at 43 clinics are moving forward with the certification process to become health care homes.

Minnesota Health Care Home Capacity Assessment, June 2009 (31-page PDF)

Stratis Health developed and analyzed this survey under contract with the Minnesota Academy of Pediatrics Foundation and MDH. Stratis Health conducts analytical work in support of assessing and improving health care quality and patient safety.

Technology in a Health Care Home

With the 2015 mandate for interoperable electronic health records (EHRs), clinics seeking to become health care homes should be sure that their EHRs and processes support them as they put the patient and family at the center of their care, develop proactive approaches through care plans, and offer more continuity of care through increased care coordination.

Through MDH funding, Stratis Health is developing actionable resources on how health information technology can be used to support health care homes. Available online in June.

Resources will include information about patient tracking and registry functions, identified as a need through the readiness survey.