Last week, US Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative that will invest $840 million over the next four years to support 150,000 clinicians to rethink and redesign their practices, moving from systems driven by quantity of care to ones focused on patients’ health outcomes, and coordinated health care systems. The funded entities could include group practices, health care systems, medical provider associations and others.

Strategies might include:

• Giving doctors better access to patient information, such as information on prescription drug use to help patients take their medications properly;
• Expanding the number of ways patients are able communicate with the team of clinicians taking care of them;
• Improving the coordination of patient care by primary care providers, specialists, and the broader medical community; and
• Using electronic health records on a daily basis to examine data on quality and efficiency.

The initiative will encourage doctors to team with their peers and others to move from volume-driven systems to value-based, patient-centered and coordinated health care services. Successful applicants will demonstrate the ability to achieve progress toward measurable goals, such as improving clinical outcomes, reducing unnecessary testing, achieving cost savings and avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations. The initiative is one part of a strategy advanced by the Affordable Care Act to strengthen the quality of patient care and spend health care dollars more wisely.

Learn more about this initiative.