Innovations by Posted Date

An array of Web-based, interactive tools and services, including an online, shared health record, empowers health plan enrollees to take greater responsibility for their health and health care.

Six adult day health centers provide nursing and rehabilitative services, as well as social programs and activities to elders and other vulnerable adults to maintain and/or improve physical, social, and cognitive functioning, thus avoiding the need for placement in a long-term care facility.

An intra-hospital transport program known as Ticket to Ride standardizes the inpatient transport process by ensuring that critical information accompanies the patient at all times, leading to fewer off-unit adverse events.

Mayo Clinic therapists conduct remote cognitive rehabilitation sessions with acquired brain injury patients who remain in or near their homes, thus enhancing access to care for those who find it difficult to travel for face-to-face sessions.

Fairview Health Services’ palliative care program offers palliative care clinical and support services to inpatients, outpatients, and home care patients to mitigate suffering and improve quality of life; the program is integrated into the care process to facilitate referrals and care coordination.

The Marshfield Clinic is using electronic tools to facilitate care process redesign for patients with chronic illnesses, leading to enhanced quality and access to care, fewer hospitalizations and adverse events, and lower costs.

As part of the Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders (GRACE) program, social worker/nurse practitioner teams collaborate with a larger interdisciplinary team and primary care physicians to develop and implement individualized care plans for low-income seniors, leading to significant improvements in health status.

Parents of overweight children completed a workbook, attended two discussion groups, and received up to 10 recorded, interactive phone messages promoting a healthy diet and physical activity, leading to a marked reduction in their children’s body mass index.

A partnership between local jails and community health providers facilitates the provision of appropriate health care to inmates and ensures continued, coordinated care upon their release, leading to reductions in jail violence and deaths and enhanced access to care.

Sentara Healthcare launched a program designed to create a strong culture of safety. The initiative includes an assessment of the existing safety culture, establishment of goals related to improved safety, the development of specific strategies to identify and correct safety problems, and the use of ongoing processes and systems to monitor progress and encourage continued improvement.

A collaborative partnership between the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, Union Rescue Mission shelter, and other community stakeholders has led to free, comprehensive dental services available to homeless individuals in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles.

Cross-training of medical, dental, and psychiatric fellows enhances access to comprehensive care for homeless and formerly homeless older adults.

The University of Rochester Medical Center placed a clinical pharmacist in the emergency department to serve as an integral member of the health care team, leading to an increase in quality care.

Asthma educators help patients, providers, school nurses, childcare providers, pharmacists, and others in the community achieve optimal asthma treatment, leading to fewer hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and missed work days.

A health maintenance organization integrated mental and behavioral health care and nutrition services with primary care delivery, leading to a more than 50-percent reduction in mental health–related hospitalizations.

The Brooklyn Mental Health Court (the Court) links eligible defendants to long-term treatment and monitoring of their mental health problems as an alternative to incarceration; early evidence suggests that the program has been successful in reducing recidivism, homelessness, psychiatric hospitalizations, alcohol use, and substance abuse.

A mobile health clinic provides a medical home to homeless and other at-risk youth, leading to fewer emergency department visits, more followup care, and high levels of satisfaction.

The Program for Refugee Oral Health enhances access to oral health services among refugees and asylum seekers in Massachusetts by providing free screenings, referrals for urgent and preventive care, culturally appropriate education, and training for medical practitioners.

An organizational transformation focused on patient- and family-centered care leads to consistently high levels of patient satisfaction.

A hospital emergency department distributes pagers to the families of low acuity/medically stable children, allowing them to leave the examination area while waiting for test results and physician recommendations, thus freeing up emergency department beds for other patients.