ALBANY, NY – CDPH, a New York insurance plan, will invest  $1 million in 21 area primary care and pediatric practices to participate in the second phase of the plan's IT-based medical home initiative.

The goal, say CDPH executives, is to promote the exchange and use of information within the healthcare industry while enhancing the quality of care.

The practices chosen by the plan will use this aid to transform their delivery of care and work toward achieving meaningful use criteria. The pledge comes on the heels of the Health and Human Services announcement specifying what physicians and hospitals will have to do to receive a share of up to $27 billion in Medicare incentives for the adoption of electronic health records and other IT initiatives over the next 10 years.

"While CDPHP has long been a proponent of health information technology, as well as the quality and cost benefits it offers the healthcare industry, we are also fully aware of the challenges and obstacles the industry still must overcome," said John D. Bennett, MD, president and CEO, CDPHP. "We hope this investment will help physicians tackle those obstacles and bring them one step closer to achieving meaningful use as defined by healthcare reform."

Since 2008, CDPHP has been working with area physicians to adopt a primary care model known as the medical home, which is designed to achieve improvements in the quality and efficiency of healthcare by transforming the way primary care is practiced and reimbursed. The original pilot participants include Community Care-Latham Medical Group, Community Care-Schodack, and CapitalCare-Clifton Park Family Practice. These practices are nearing the completion of a 30-month effort, working closely with TransforMED Consulting (a subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Practice) and CDPHP.

CDPHP Medical Home: Phase II

This month, CDPHP and 21 new practices launched the second phase of a medical home initiative capable of reaching nearly 52,000 of its members and encompassing more than 160 of its network physicians.

The monetary investment will help phase II participants in achieving PCMH level III certification by providing facilitated support via TransforMED Consulting, Inc., the integration of CDPHP resources (case management, pharmacy, behavioral health, and data analytics) where appropriate, and stipends to cover start-up costs.

According to Bruce Nash, MD, MBA, CDPHP senior vice president and chief medical officer, who has overseen this initiative since its inception, "The ultimate vision for this program is to create an innovative and sustainable model for the reimbursement of primary care physicians, leading to a resurgence of interest in primary care medicine as a career. We also hope to demonstrate a transformation of primary care that enhances the quality and value of the services delivered. With phase II underway, we believe we are on the right path."