Former Kansas Health Policy Authority director: Health care delivery is changing, but more needs to be done

The American health care system is slowly moving toward a model of care that emphasizes primary care and prevention, but Marci Nielsen says more needs to be done.

It’s something that Nielsen continues to advocate for. She is the CEO of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, a Washington D.C.-based organization that is working to change health care delivery models.

Nielsen, who has served as the executive director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority and has worked at the University of Kansas Medical Center, was in Wichita Wednesday as one of the featured speakers during the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care’s annualRoundtable Conference.

Nielsen’s organization is pushing for a more widespread implementation of what is being called a patient-centered medical home model. It’s a model of care that is designed to provide better access to coordinated care through a primary care physician.

The model emphasizes prevention and placing the patient at the center of care. Nielsen said it sounds simple, but in reality, “we have a health system that is centered on providers.”

Providers are paid for services they provide. Nielsen says more needs to be done to shift that model to one that incentivizes and rewards doctors for keeping people healthy and lowering costs.

“We need to become healthier as a nation for the money we spend on health care,” Nielsen said. “Nothing less is acceptable.”