The 2016 Community Health Institute and Expo (CHI) brings together the nation’s most innovative community health center (CHC) leaders and organizations (including our clients) - all in one place. Needless to say, PointCare was in good company in Chicago this year!
Each year’s conference highlights how far the industry has come but also how far we still have to go. CHCs continue to face several challenges in the ever-changing healthcare landscape. Several of these issues were addressed in Chicago but there were three themes I found most prominent throughout CHI.
Health is more than healthcare - Karen DeSalvo, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services said it best during the general session “health is more than healthcare.” At PointCare, we couldn’t agree more. Social determinants of health are playing more and more of critical role when it comes to an individual’s health - zip codes can tell more about your health than your DNA. Knowing of and partnering with programs in your community is a step in the right direction for optimal population health.
Workforce matters - Health centers are understaffed. Plain and simple. Yet, the patient population continues to skyrocket with 1 in 13 people utilizing clinics for their primary care. This creates a need for CHCs to not only retain employees but to also streamline current workflow both in the clinic and front/back office to maximize productivity while addressing the growing patient population. Health IT is (slowly) solving this problem with solutions to better manage clinic processes.
Innovation is happening - I think one of the best stats I overheard was “100% of health centers have improved at least 1 Clinical Quality Measure (CQM) in the past year”. EHRs were just the beginning. Health centers are now looking to become true healthcare innovators by adopting new tools that go beyond the clinical visit and enhancing overall access to health care coverage and patient engagement.
These themes are underlying reminders of the resiliency CHCs have to continue to provide quality healthcare. As a community, we need to support CHC efforts from all angles - from prevention to coverage management and even addressing additional social determinants of health. I believe that these themes will come into greater formation in the next year. With new technologies and policies coming into place, more challenges will arise. I’m with NACHC Board Chair, J. Ricardo Guzman, when he said “Bring it on 2017,” - together, we’ll make sure our CHCs are ready.
