(1) The department of social and health
services, in collaboration with the department of health, shall:
(a) Design and implement medical homes for its aged, blind,
and disabled clients in conjunction with chronic care management
programs to improve health outcomes, access, and
cost-effectiveness. Programs must be evidence based,
facilitating the use of information technology to improve quality
of care, must acknowledge the role of primary care providers and
include financial and other supports to enable these providers to
effectively carry out their role in chronic care management, and
must improve coordination of primary, acute, and long-term care
for those clients with multiple chronic conditions. The
department shall consider expansion of existing medical home and
chronic care management programs and build on the Washington
state collaborative initiative. The department shall use best
practices in identifying those clients best served under a
chronic care management model using predictive modeling through
claims or other health risk information; and
(b) Evaluate the effectiveness of current chronic care
management efforts in the health and recovery services
administration and the aging and disability services
administration, comparison to best practices, and recommendations
for future efforts and organizational structure to improve
chronic care management.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) "Medical home" means a site of care that provides
comprehensive preventive and coordinated care centered on the
patient needs and assures high quality, accessible, and efficient
care.
(b) "Chronic care management" means the department's program
that provides care management and coordination activities for
medical assistance clients determined to be at risk for high
medical costs. "Chronic care management" provides education and
training and/or coordination that assist program participants in
improving self-management skills to improve health outcomes and
reduce medical costs by educating clients to better utilize
services.
[2007 c 259 § 4.]
NOTES:
Severability -- Subheadings not law -- 2007 c 259: See notes following RCW 41.05.033.