PROVIDENCE – In last year’s Commonwealth Fund report, AIMING HIGHER: Results from the Commonwealth Fund Scorecard on State Health System Performance, Rhode Island ranked fourth-best in the nation on more than 40 measures of population health – but since there’s always room for improvement, the Care Transformation Collaborative will discuss where that work should focus during the State of Primary Care in Rhode Island summit March 29 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Providence Marriott Downtown in Providence.
The summit is sponsored by Care Transformation Collaborative of Rhode Island, the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. During the talks, health care leaders will explore key advancements that Rhode Island has made in primary care, and ways the state can continue to advance the delivery system.
The discussion will also be of interest to lawmakers working on state health care policies as well as organizations interested in the way advanced primary care supports improved health care delivery and population health.
Panelists include:
- Dr. Marie Ganim, commissioner, Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner, will discuss the importance of primary care investment, how Rhode Island has progressed, how primary care is improving and the impact on Rhode Islanders.
- Patrick Tigue, Medicaid director, Executive Office of Health and Human Services, will discuss the importance of investment in primary care and how transformation efforts have made an impact on the Medicaid population. He will also discuss Medicaid’s priorities and touch on the opioid epidemic, as well as specifically highlight the patient-centered medical home kids/pediatric angle.
- Dr. Tom Bledsoe, University Medicine, will speak to case study examples of ways advanced primary care is working in the Ocean State and touch on mental health/behavioral health efforts, such as Community Health Teams or Integrated Behavioral Health.
- Matthew Roman, chief operating officer, Thundermist Health Center, will provide details on ways primary care is supporting the state workforce/economy, specifically highlighting nurse care manager training/development initiatives; medication-assisted treatment; community health teams; and integrated behavioral health workforce development.
Registration to the free event is still open,and can be completed online.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
