Triple Aim Quality and Innovation Award Winner
People Home Health – Certified, Inc.
Western New York

Inspired by the state’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, People, Inc. and its Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA), People Home Health Care-Certified, have made incredible strides integrating telemedicine for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

For the past three years, People Inc. enlisted its CHHA, People Home Health Care-Certified, to deploy a telemedicine technology pilot program into each of its group homes. The project currently has approximately 950 individuals participating, of which 436 are Medicaid patients.

Under this program, an RN is deployed for an assessment in response to an injury or illness call. The RN uses the telemedicine technology to remotely connect with a physician, who performs a video assessment of the client. Based on this assessment, the CHHA RN can perform a cardiac, dermatological, EKG, and other state-of-the-art assessments. The onsite RN can then implement new orders such as point-of-care testing, basic lab work with bedside results within minutes, splinting, or IV therapy, among others. Radiology and imaging services can be done on site.

Instead of a patient being sent directly to the emergency room or urgent care (ER/UC), the new system is able to identify avoidable or inappropriate ED cases more quickly and efficiently.

Medicaid is the primary source of health coverage for individuals with Intellectual and developmental disabilities. This sub-population tends to be in poorer health and to use health care at a significantly higher rate.

Based on its outcomes, People Inc. believes telemedicine services can reduce the number of ER/UC visits by 25 percent, representing a potential annual cost savings of $199,009, even when program costs are factored. These are meaningful outcomes that mirror directly the goals of state efforts to curb higher-cost service utilization through DSRIP and other initiatives.

Triple Aim Quality and Innovation Award

The Triple Aim demands that home care and hospice agencies, payors, and other providers work to: improve patients’ experiences of care (including satisfaction); address the health of populations; and reduce per-capita costs in the health care system. This HCA award recognizes a home care or hospice provider agency, Managed Long Term Care plan or team that has implemented a concrete, innovative clinical model, workforce supports, patient or staff education program, or other initiative with demonstrated outcomes in terms of client satisfaction, population health improvement, and cost reduction or avoidance.