CDEs in CPC+
Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) is a national advanced primary care medical home model that aims to strengthen primary care through regionally-based multi-payer payment reform and care delivery transformation. Developed by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), it looks to transition Medicare fee-for-service to value-based payments in collaboration with Medicaid and commercial payers in selected regions.
CPC+ includes two primary care practice tracks with incrementally advanced care delivery requirements and payment options to meet the diverse needs of primary care practices in the United States. CPC+ seeks to improve quality, access, and efficiency of primary care. Practices in both tracks will make changes in the way they deliver care, centered on key Comprehensive Primary Care Functions: (1) Access and Continuity; (2) Care Management; (3) Comprehensiveness and Coordination; (4) Patient and Caregiver Engagement; and (5) Planned Care and Population Health. The care delivery redesign ensures practices have the infrastructure to deliver better care, resulting in a healthier patient population.
There are just shy of 3,000 primary care practices currently participating in Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) in 18 regions across the United States. Fifty Montana primary care practices were selected to participate in the program in late November 2016. The Montana CPC+ programs can be found in primary clinics in the regions surrounding the Flathead Valley, Missoula, Great Falls, Bozeman, Billings, Lewistown, and Lame Deer.
What does this mean for diabetes educators?
The CPC+ opens up a door to increase patients’ access to Certified Diabetes Educators (CDE) in the primary care setting. Currently, these primary care visits with a Certified Diabetes Educator are a free service to patients. This system allows CDEs to integrate into the primary care team (primary care provider, patient navigators, pharmacists, behavioral health) for the betterment of patient care, outcomes and support.
For more information please go to the Montana.gov and/or CMS.gov websites:
https://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/comprehensive-primary-care-plus
http://dphhs.mt.gov/MontanaHealthcarePrograms/cpcplus