Taconic IPA's Annette Watson to present at PCPCC meeting

She will discuss how the Hudson Valley Initiative has promoted health care transformation, bringing about significant market change

FISHKILL, N.Y., April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the proper support, transformation is possible for organizations of any size; for evidence, just look at the Hudson Valley of New York. That's part of the message Annette C. Watson, RN-BC, CCM, MBA will deliver Monday at the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative Stakeholder Conference in Washington, DC.

Watson, senior vice president of Community Transformation for Taconic IPA (TIPA) and immediate past chair of the Commission for Case Manager Certification, will offer a workshop about the Hudson Valley Initiative and how it's helping revolutionize health care delivery.

The Hudson Valley Initiative is a collaborative effort among three organizations—TIPA, Taconic Health Information Network and Community (THINC) and MedAllies—to revolutionize health care delivery through a shared vision to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care in the community. The Hudson Valley Initiative team offers technical, consulting and program-based services. For the past 10 years, the partnership has worked to bring about significant market change at the local and regional levels.

MedAllies professionals advance EHR adoption and ensure technology is used in a meaningful way.

THINC serves as a neutral convening entity advancing the market around quality management, payment reform and consumer satisfaction.

TIPA offers consulting and educational services to transform practice workflow to a PCMH, along with centralized infrastructure and processes to promote and support advanced primary care practices.

Watson's presentation will include an overview of the work in the Hudson Valley to provide tools, resources and expert consultation to support primary care practices in their efforts to become medical homes, and to enhance care coordination for high-risk, complex patients. She will focus on two specific transformation topics:

• Medical Home Recognition: TIPA works with physician practices to help them achieve recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance Physician Practice Connections®-Patient-Centered Medical Home™.
• Advanced Medical Home Transformation: Watson is the clinical lead on a community pilot managed by THINC and operated in partnership with TIPA. The model deploys RN case managers in primary care practices to coordinate care for those patients most in need. Eight primary care practices at 13 practice sites are participating in the pilot, which began in July 2011 and was fully implemented in January 2012. The pilot will run through 2013 and is intended to measure whether an open community can achieve improvements in cost, quality and satisfaction

"A key value proposition of the Hudson Valley Initiative and the pilot is our ability to manage multiple stakeholders in an open community—and to demonstrate results," Watson explained. "Because open communities are the norm for health care delivery, we believe the impact of this pilot will extend beyond the Hudson Valley, and might be a blueprint for others to follow."

For more about the Advanced Primary Care & Care Coordination, read the issue brief, "Collaboration, coordination and care: Hudson Valley's embedded case manager pilot unites payers, providers and the community to transform patient care," at www.hudsonvalleyinitiative.com/press-kit.html.

About the PCPCC and the meeting
The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative is a coalition of more than 1,000 major employers, consumer groups, organizations representing primary care physicians and other stakeholders who have joined to advance the patient-centered medical home. The PCPCC's annual Stakeholder Conference, Patients and Families at the Center of the Medical Home: Better engagement, better care, better outcomes in the Patient-Centered Medical Home, will highlight the primacy of the patient at the center of the medical home concept, and provide extensive education and networking opportunities. This dynamic two-day meeting, to be held at Marriott at Wardman Park in Washington, DC, begins Monday, April 23. A complete agenda is available here. Details and registration information are here.

About Taconic IPA
The Taconic IPA is a 4,000-member physician group at the forefront of transforming health care delivery through meaningful use of technology and pay-for-performance incentives to increase the quality and cost effectiveness of patient care. Taconic IPA's mission is to optimize the value of medical services through patient-centered care while maximizing physician satisfaction. For more information, visit www.taconicipa.com.

About the Hudson Valley Initiative
The Hudson Valley Initiative is an effort among three organizations—Taconic IPA, Taconic Health Information Network and Community and MedAllies—to revolutionize health care delivery through a shared vision to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care in the community. These three organizations leverage health information technology, physician practice transformation and value-based purchasing in pursuit of care delivery that is patient-centered, coordinated, accessible, high quality and efficiently delivered through sustainable financial models. To learn more, go to www.hudsonvalleyinitiative.com.

SOURCE Hudson Valley Initiative