Rhode Island, one of the first states to adopt the multi-payer, patient-centered medical home model of care, has established itself as a leader in the primary care movement. Health care leaders in this state believe that we have the opportunity to truly change our health care system through this Initiative. Recent indicators show us that this model of care is doing just that.
2013 was an incredible year of transformation and progress for the Rhode Island Chronic Care Sustainability Initiative (CSI-RI). We expanded our Initiative to now include 36 primary care practices with a total of 48 practice sites and 303 providers, growing the number of Rhode Islanders who now have a patient-centered medical home to more than 220,000, but our work is far from over.
New data shows us that more patients at our practices are attaining targeted health outcomes, and the quality of care in our practices - from access to provider ratings - is the highest it has been. Our success does not just lie within the parameters of performance data. For the first time, our Initiative is moving to better support more high risk populations of patients in Rhode Island by introducing Community Health Teams and Integrated Behavioral Health. We are also working to bring the voice of patients to the table and contribute to workforce development.
We are proud of our Initiative’s work and progress in 2013 – highlighted in this annual report - which would not have been possible without the support of our full network of payers, providers, partners, purchasers, consumers, educators and other leaders in our state dedicated to improving our health care system.
As we look forward, we are driven by our mission, along with the responsibility we have assumed, to lead the transformation of primary care in this state, so all Rhode Islanders can enjoy excellent health and quality of life. We thank everyone involved in our Initiative who has helped lay the groundwork for a stronger health care system.
