Health care transformation on the right path

While much attention is focused on the politicization of the federal Affordable Care Act and the struggles faced by the local nonprofit Hawaii Health Connector, great advances are being made to transform health care in Hawaii.

The Hawaii Healthcare Project (HHP) a partnership between the Office of the Governor (led by state health care transformation coordinator Beth Giesting, my co-chair) and leaders of Hawaii’s health care industry has designed a comprehensive, statewide "transformation road map" that brings significant and positive changes in the way we deliver and pay for care, use health care information, and shape policy to support these changes.

In designing the plan, HHP convened more than a hundred stakeholders across a broad spectrum of the state’s health care industry, including state and county agencies, insurers, hospitals, community health centers, providers, consumers and advocates.

The plan is solid. It provides clarity, strong data and accord across the public and private sectors regarding our path forward to achieve the triple aim of better care, better health and lower costs.

Why does this matter? Even though Hawaii was recently named the "healthiest state" by America’s Health Rankings, HHP believes our system can be improved. While we have much to be proud of, some serious challenges face our health care system: escalating costs, uneven access to care and workforce shortages (especially on the neighbor islands), poorer health status of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and unrealized opportunities to fully utilize health information technology.

To counter these disturbing trends, HHP has identified six essential catalysts for transformation:

» Patient-centered primary care, which puts patients and their families in a "medical home" where they are the focus of the system and can always get the care they need when they need it.

» Care coordination, to help every patient navigate our health care system plus an extra assist to high-risk, high-need individuals to link them with all the services they need.

» Payment reform, aligning all insurers in paying for quality rather than quantity of care.

» Health information technology, to increase connectivity and quality across the health care system.

» Workforce development, to match workers with our changing needs.

» Policy strategies and levers, that use state policy and programs to move transformation forward.

What’s next? The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which funded the development of this road map, is expected to release another round of competitive grants, and HHP is mobilizing its stakeholders to apply for funds to accelerate our efforts. Regardless, local health organizations are fully committed to transforming the system, as demonstrated by the many innovations already taking place.

Also on the agenda: The state must continue to play a lead role in transformation, and this requires a permanent structure and resources. We encourage the state Legislature to fund the governor’s budget request and proposed transformation office to support our ongoing mission to transform health care.

High quality, sustainable costs and good health are what transformation is all about, and Hawaii now has a sound plan and the consensus necessary to get there.

Dr. Virginia “Ginny” Pressler is executive vice president and chief strategic officer of Hawaii Pacific Health; she also co-chairs The Hawaii Healthcare Project.