Researchers at George Washington University www.gwu.edu (GW) received a grant for $23.8 million from CMS http://cms.hhs.gov to study how to improve HIV prevention and care while lowering healthcare costs. The project will test a system that relies on mobile technologies, home testing, and an integrated care system to prevent HIV infections.
The grant is part of the Health Care Innovation Awards http://innovation.cms.gov announced recently by CMS which has awarded a total of $360 million to 39 awardees that will be testing novel models designed to provide better healthcare at lower costs.
The Milken Institute School of Public Health at GW, http://publicgwu.edu together with the Rodham Institute of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences http://smhs.gwu.edu collaborated with outreach organizations, clinical care systems, hospitals, managed care organizations, technology firms, D.C Department of Health http://doh.dc.gov and D.C Health Care Finance http://shcf.dc.gov to win the three year award.
“This award represents a commitment to innovative, community-oriented care at its finest especially in D.C where AIDS transmission rates are alarmingly high,” says Lynn R. Goldman MD, and Dean of Public Health at the Milken Institute.
The project will develop a shared IT system that will provide Medicaid participants in D.C with preventive and chronic care services integrated across a range of settings. As part of the project, researchers will provide patients with mobile health tools to support health literacy, risk reduction, and home testing.
Community health workers will receive mobile tools to coordinate care for HIV infected people who have detectable viral load, or have missed clinic appointments and/or medication refill visits.
The model will also help community health workers and/or patients create comprehensive care plans that can be integrated into EMRs. With this type of care plan, providers will be able to easily check on a patient’s medical history and provide supportive care aimed at preventing infection in the first place or to keep viral loads in check.