University of New England

UNE Center for Health Policy, Planning and Research to assess community health system in Connecticut

PORTLAND, ME - The Center for Health Policy, Planning and Research (CHPPR), located at the University of New England's Westbrook College Campus in Portland, was recently selected to conduct a Community Health Assessment of the Middlesex Health System (MHS) service area in Connecticut.

The MHS is a progressive system serving the Middlesex County, Connecticut area. It is one of 10 nationwide sites for the new Medicare experiment, Physician Group Practice Demonstration.  This initiative allows participating practices the opportunity to earn performance payments for improving the quality and cost-efficiency of health care delivered to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.

The demonstration focuses on improving care management and coordination of care at the practice sites, a high priority of the current research being done at CHPPR. The center is at the forefront of quality improvement initiatives in outpatient care, with a particular focus on improvement of care for persons with chronic conditions.  The demonstration also focuses on expanding palliative and hospice care, modifying physician practice patterns and behavior and enhancing information technology.

Objectives
The objectives of the Community Health Assessment that CHPPR will perform include: the completion of a demographic, health status, utilization and health outcomes profile of the population of MHS service area; identification of current and future healthcare priority health service issues by health domain; determination of health issues among sub-populations and geographic clusters; identifications of gaps in community services and programs; and providing MHS with the service planning information to expand its service base, serve community needs and collaborate with partners to improve population health.

The report, due to be completed by December 2007, will provide MHS with a solid foundation of information for service planning and development over the next several years. 

(Press release posted Aug. 15, 2007)