Important Updates from the National Evaluation

Important Updates from the National Evaluation

Important new information from the National Evaluation is now available on the CHIPRA website  The State Spotlight for Illinois has been updated. The Spotlight describes the State’s strategies, lessons learned, and outcomes and can be helpful to other States interested in improving the quality of care for children. You may access the State Spotlights at: http://www.ahrq.gov/policymakers/chipra/state-spotlights/index.html  A recently published article on the relationship between patient centered medical homes (PCMH) and health care use in three CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Grant Program States is now freely available at http://www.academicpedsjnl.net/article/S1876-2859(14)00429-X/pdf. Researchers from the National Evaluation Team used practice-reported PCMH assessments and Medicaid claims from child-serving practices in Illinois, North Carolina and South Carolina to estimate the linkage between medical homeness and well-child care and nonurgent, preventable, or avoidable emergency department (ED) use. The study found that medical homeness was not associated with age-appropriate well-child visits. However, the analysis also showed that relationships between nonurgent, preventable, or avoidable ED visits and medical homeness varied by State. The mixed results of this and previous studies show that differences in PCMH measurement tools and state policy context may affect research findings. Longitudinal studies that examine changes in multiple measures of medical homeness and health care service use within practices over time are needed to enhance this growing evidence base.  A new Web page promoting the CHIPRA Demonstration-funded Florida Pediatric Medical Home Demonstration Project is now live on the American Academy of Pediatrics Web site. The project Web page highlights:  Ways in which parents were involved in quality improvement teams in primary care settings;  Key lessons learned that may be applicable to other pediatric health care teams interested in implementing patient- and family-centered care in the context of medical home; and  A list of practical resources that participating practice teams found most helpful to their efforts. Click here to access the Web page and here to directly access a brief video promoting the value and benefit of medical home to patients, families, and health care professionals.  AHRQ has also posted three presentations given by Mathematica Policy Research staff on different aspects of the National Evaluation. You may access the slide decks under Presentations and Webinars at: http://www.ahrq.gov/policymakers/chipra/demoeval/what-we-learned/index.html#webinars. For more information on AHRQ’s role in CHIPRA, visit http://www.ahrq.gov/policymakers/chipra/index.html.   For more information on the CHIPRA Quality Demonstration Grant projects and the national evaluation, visit:http://www.ahrq.gov/policymakers/chipra/demoeval/index.html.