The health care that happens outside the doctor’s office

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The evolving role of community health workers is covered in the Connecticut Mirror, highlighting their impact on the health and wellbeing of high-needs patients.  

In the traditional medical model of fee-for-service, funding for community health workers is often difficult to come by, but new value-based models of health care provide more sustainable opportunities for community outreach to be an integrated and valued part of the overall healthcare system:


[There is] an opening for community health workers in a changing health care system. In recent years, there’s been a major push to shift health care from a fee-for-service system to one that ties payment to outcomes and overall cost...And that gives doctors financial incentives to look at all the factors that serve as barriers to patients following through with what the doctor recommended. ‘The accountability line is going beyond the doors of your clinic, it’s now going out into the neighborhood and into the home,’ [Dr. Bruce Gould, associate dean for primary care at UConn Health] said. ‘How do you reach beyond the doors of the clinic? That’s the community health worker.’”

Delaware and DCHI are on a similar path through the state’s Health Care Innovation Plan, by planning the implementation of community health workers within the state of Delaware.  DCHI and The Workforce and Education Committee created the Community Health Workers (CHW) subcommittee to further the advancement of these workers throughout the state.  The committee is working to define the role and scope of work for CHWs and develop recommendations to integrate into the Delaware workforce.  

Implementing CHW's into the workforce compliments DCHI's other initiatives, such as the Healthy Neighborhoods program and the push towards value-based payment models.  Focusing on four statewide priority areas (healthy lifestyles; maternal and child health; mental health and addiction; and chronic disease prevention and management), the Healthy Neighborhoods program convenes local stakeholders to ensure healthy outcomes for Delawareans.  Coupled with the significant shift to a value-based payment model for medical care across the state, Delaware is creating a prime opportunity to grow the role of community health worker into one that more effectively supports positive outcomes for patients and providers alike.


For more information about DCHI and the State Innovation Plan, please visit dehealthinnovation.org and sign-up to receive updates.   Subscribe Now

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