New area health group taking shape
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. -- Several Douglas County health care providers have announced the formation of a new Community Health Alliance to coordinate health care for patients on the Oregon Health Plan.
The Community Health Alliance would coordinate health care from primary and specialty care, to hospital and dental services and even mental health.
Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, the CEO of DCIPA, says the group would become one of the the state's first Coordinated Care Organizations.
The goal is to deliver the best health care in a timely way and at the lowest cost, especially for young children. "Many of the details of this have not yet been determined, and the legislature and the Oregon Health Authority are going to be working on this over the next several months to go ahead and put together more clear rules," said Dannenhoffer, "but right now our goal is to work together to improve care for patients."
Kelly Morgan of Mercy Medical Center says he thinks the hospitals will have key roles in the Coordinated Care Organizations. "We have to work with our partners in the community, whether it be mental health issues, whether it be physician services, whether it be dental health services, and as you're probably aware, a lot of people get health services through the emergency department," he said. "I think that's going to be really critical when a person comes into the emergency department. How do we communicate that back to their doctor or other providers here in town?"
Dr. Ron Tribble, Winston dentist, says Advantage Dental wanted to be on board from the start, but he says it's all new and they're not sure yet how it's going to work. "I believe we have almost 20,000 people we take care of in this area, so I really felt, and the other people in Advantage felt, that we really needed to be at the table at the beginning stages to make this try to work for everybody," he said.
Dr. Tribble says it's definitely a work in progress and there will be lots of changes along the way, but he's hopeful it will be a big benefit to the patients in the long run.
Local organizations that are getting on board with the Coordinated Care Organization include Mercy Medical Center, Douglas County Independent Physicians, Advantage Dental and ADAPT, among others.
