The Hope Street is a non-profit policy think tank that has been focusing a lot of attention on "Re-inventing Primary Care" via open innovation strategies. They recently presented a memo to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the value of using health extenders and they highlighted SHIP's work at Northwestern as an example of an innovative service to improve quality and efficiency for both patients and physicians.
Or, below is the section discussing our work.
Pathways to Improved Services
Northwestern Memorial Physician’s Group, in partnering with the Szollosi Healthcare Innovation Program, has implemented “Pathways” or protocols that are used by Care Coordinators to shorten the time between PCP referral and workup completion by a specialist. Electronic messages are sent to a Care Coordinator by a PCP, triggering a protocol for the patient that may include: arranging for imaging studies, specialist appointments, insurance approval and chart review to ensure all steps in the protocol were completed (if all steps have not been completed, the patient is contacted and the PCP is notified). By strategically redesigning existing workers’ roles, and thus not having to incur any extra costs, this group has been able to cut the length of time to complete a hematuria workup from 70 days to 35 days and increase the chance each patient will get a complete workup. Additionally, since patients will only see their urologists after their imaging tests are completed, there is an overall decrease in total visits to the Urologists - resulting in both decreased cost per patient and increased access opportunities for the patient population.