Creating Human Connections, Meeting Patients Where They Are,
and Keeping Solutions Simple among Key Best Practices to Improving
Access and Driving Health Equity
SACRAMENTO, Calif.,
May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Health
Net, one of California's longest
serving and most experienced Medi-Cal partners, today released new
research outlining best practices for expanding access to care
as well as reducing health disparities among some of the state's
most vulnerable residents.
"Health Net knows we must use data and be innovative to improve
the lives of our members," said Martha Santana-Chin,
Medi-Cal President of Health Net.
"Our company's latest industry report, Innovating Within
Medi-Cal, is informed by our most impactful investments,
interventions, and collaborations with partners across California to expand access and drive health
equity. We can all leverage these insights from across the state as
we work collectively to improve the health of our communities."
Among the report's key findings to help improve access to care
and reduce health disparities include:
- Leverage Data to Identify At-Risk Populations and Ground
Interventions in Human Connection: Utilizing improved analytics
and multiple data sources, identify patients and populations who
face one or more barriers to care, and design interventions based
on human connections.
- Solutions Shouldn't Be Complex – Simplicity is Key:
Innovations should strive to reduce complexity. The simplest
solutions are often the most effective for both patients and
providers within Medi-Cal.
- Meet Patients Where They Are by Identifying Channels They
Trust: Proactively find ways to reach and support patients in
ways that make them feel most comfortable. Engage and activate the
right local partners to meet patients where they are and deliver
care in a manner that's familiar and trusted.
"Health Net leverages patient data, analytics and algorithms to
drive human interventions," said Dr. Pooja
Mittal, Chief Health Equity Officer, Health Net. "This focus
and long-term investment has enabled us to not only identify, but
also predict, the populations facing the greatest barriers to care.
We then design and implement interventions that meet patients where
they are, address their needs, and ultimately close gaps in health
outcomes."
With decades of experience as a partner with government
healthcare agencies, Health Net has honed the ability to carefully
steward public resources and improve access to quality care for
those who need it most. In fact, today, two-thirds of Health Net's
members are Medi-Cal enrollees who often face unique barriers to
care and tend to experience poorer health outcomes as a result.
According to the report, Health Net recommends the following
strategies to boost access to care and improve health equity:
- Continue to invest in patient data infrastructure and
coordination;
- Understand how population health trends enable delivery of more
personalized care;
- Leverage patient analytics as a tool to build greater human
connection;
- Reject dated assumptions about technology adoption;
- For some access issues, there's not an App for that;
- Prioritize local solutions that reduce complexity;
- Think outside the doctor's office to meet patients where they
are;
- Design interventions that require minimal behavior change.
In addition to these and other operational innovations, Health
Net has invested more than $100
million since 2017 to support over 500 community-based
initiatives in California to
bridge the divide in access to care. The result of these
collaborations helped to inform the report, along with firsthand
insights from the company's partners across the safety net.
Learn more and read the full report at Bridging the Divide. Read
other Health Net reports on addressing health equity, workforce
development and leveraging telehealth here.
About Health Net:
At Health Net, we believe every person deserves a safety net for
their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or
current state of health. Founded in California more than 40 years ago, we're
dedicated to transforming the health of our community, one person
at a time. Today, Health Net's 2,600 employees and 90,000 network
providers serve 3 million members. That's nearly 1 in 12
Californians. We provide health plans for individuals, families,
businesses of every size and people who qualify for Medi-Cal or
Medicare — Coverage for Every Stage of Life™. Health Net also
offers access to substance abuse programs, behavioral health
services, employee assistance programs and managed health care
products related to prescription drugs. We offer these health plans
and services through Health Net, LLC and its subsidiaries: Health
Net of California, Inc., Health
Net Life Insurance Company and Health Net Community Solutions, Inc.
These entities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation
(NYSE: CNC). For more information,
visit www.HealthNet.com.
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SOURCE Health Net