JANICE BURGER, CEO, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Providence Health & Services- Oregon, Western Division (Portland)
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“Providing access and affordable services to the many people in our community who are recently covered through the Affordable Care Act is a pressing issue. The utilization of health services by the newly enrolled is higher than anticipated, which has created some instability for local health plans and stressed access to healthcare.
Providence Health & Services is making significant investments in expanding access to primary care, including both an expansion of medical home capabilities and adding low-cost options for low-acuity visits. The intent is to reduce the cost of care by avoiding costly emergency department use. The new access options we are expanding include express care, a Web-based telehealth visit program with nurse practitioners, a partnership with Walgreens to provide easy walk-in access in convenient locations, and expanded immediate care and urgent care in our more traditional primary care sites.
In addition, our organization is working to transform care through models that are patient-centered and more affordable. Examples include our redesign of pregnancy care, which has resulted in a 15 percent reduction of costs and very high patient satisfaction, and our heart surgery care package, which has improved outcomes and lowered cost.”
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