Integrating a capacity-building strategy into patient activation efforts by health plan outreach staff

Network Health is a Medicaid Managed Care Organization with over 215,000 members statewide in Massachusetts. As an extension of its integrated care management strategy, Network Health created a community outreach program with the goal of increasing engagement of high risk health plan members with primary and preventive care, assess care management and care coordination needs, and connect with community resources. In an effort to build capacity within these members to effectively partner with their healthcare providers, we have begun the process of teaching community health workers how to model critical decision points and how to help members learn the skill of asking their questions with their healthcare providers. We will present the model and aim of the Clinical Community Outreach program, how The Right Question Effective Patient Strategy fits with the goals of the program, implementation process and challenges to date, and population challenges and successes. We list specific obstacles that need to be addressed in order to build patient capacity to advocate for themselves, partner with providers and navigate our system. We will also discuss subtle and significant changes in our training of our community health workers. We will describe changes as well in our standard protocols with patients to demonstrate how to integrate skill-building components intro traditional outreach and intake processes.