Project Description
Project Overview
KRM Associates Inc. (KRM) was part of a multi-state collaborative funded through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), to modify and pilot web-based Health & Wellness Management System technology originally developed under a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) transformation grant as a pediatric specific case management tool.
KRM integrated role-based security and C32 architecture into an open-source framework, which resulted in a web-accessible toolkit available to patients, providers, and case managers.
Work Included:
- Adaptation of HealtheMe to accommodate data entry and self report of draft measures to be tested in the field.
- Coordinating and integrating pediatric specific functionality into web-based case management utility, including growth charts and head circumference measurements.
- Deploying and supporting pilot solution for use within participating states.
Project Goals:
The overall aims of the state of West Virginia and KRM specific to participation in this project were to improve the access to and quality of health care for children in West Virginia through the testing of the use of a new care model using community based shared care coordinators; the utilization of HealtheMe, a web based Patient Health Record (PHR) as a communication and reporting tool between the care team, care coordinator and patient and family; and the examination of new measures to demonstrate the impact of these services on overall quality of care. West Virginia and KRM will participate in a national collaboration with the states of Oregon and Alaska as part of this quality demonstration project.
A core set of measures will be tested working with the other states. In West Virginia 20 primary care providers will be recruited to test these measures while striving to become medical homes. In exchange for their participation in the testing of the proposed measures, the providers will be provided support through a shared care coordinator. The care coordinator will assist with the data collection, but also work on intervention strategies to improve the care working with each respective care team. The practices will also participate in a collaborative to share best practices and lessons learned across the participating practices.
Additionally, an existing Personal Health Record (developed through a prior CMS Medicaid Transformation Grant) will be adapted to accommodate the new measures and for use as a care coordination and communication tool between the care team, Care Coordinator and patient/family. The use of HealtheMe in this pilot is envisioned to help establish a clear use case that will accelerate the adoption of use of PHRs by providers in West Virginia. It will also assist the practices with demonstrating meaningful use of technology.
