Medical Home Network is expanding its partnership with Cook County Health and Hospital System to include mental health providers, substance abuse providers, immediate and urgent care centers, and Cermak Health Services, which provides healthcare to the 9,000 detainees at the Cook County Department of Corrections.
The two systems are currently working together on Cook County Health and Hospital System's managed care plan, CountyCare.
The new partnership expands Medical Home Network's web-based connectivity system to all of the CountyCare population, the Chicago-based IT network said.
MHNConnect is a secure, web-based portal that shares real-time patient information between doctors, hospitals, and clinics and integrates historical health records into one platform to allow for coordination of patient care, Medical Home Network said.
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If a patient is hospitalized, MHNConnect notifies their primary care provider and their care coordinator to provide follow-up, reducing the probability that the patient will need to be readmitted to the hospital.
This improves overall health outcomes for patients at safety net health centers such as Esperanza Health Centers on Chicago's Southwest Side, Medical Home Network said.
"More than half the residents in our service area experience significant economic, educational, and health disparities," said Esperanza CEO Dan Fulwiler.
Esperanza Health Centers is a founding partner of MHN.
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MHN's model resulted in a 130 percent increase in timely patient follow-up visits, a 25 percent decrease in 30-day hospital readmissions, and a decrease in the overall cost of care for each patient for Esperanza Health Centers, he said.
The new effort connects the broader county medical system of hospitals, clinics and primary care providers.
MHN currently connects 197 clinics, 21 hospitals, more than 1,600 primary care providers.
Medical Home Network is a nonprofit Chicago-based healthcare collaborative for Chicago Medicaid patients.
Cook County's Health & Hospitals System formed CountyCare in 2012 to enroll newly eligible Medicaid patients under the Affordable Care Act.
"Cook County is at a time in our history when we must find new and innovative ways to address the healthcare needs and challenges of our patient population, while continuing to reduce the cost of care," said Jay Shannon, MD, CEO of CCHHS. "Our board's decision to continue our partnership with MHN is one of the ways we will be working to achieve that objective."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse