New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) receives Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative Award

The New Jersey Innovation Institute is one of 39 health care collaborative networks selected to participate in the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative, announced today by Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. NJII will receive up to $49.6 million to provide technical assistance support to help equip clinicians in the New Jersey region with tools, information, and network support needed to improve quality of care, increase patients' access to information, and spend health care dollars more wisely.

"Supporting doctors and other health care professionals change the way they work is critical to improving quality and spending our health care dollars more wisely," said Secretary Burwell. "These awards will give patients more of the information they need to make informed decisions about their care and give clinicians access to information and support to improve care coordination and quality outcomes."

As a Practice Transformation Network, NJII will support 11,500 clinicians to expand their quality improvement capacity, learn from one another, and achieve common goals of improved care, better health and reduced cost. The network will provide educational support, quality improvement and reporting tools to help participating clinicians meet the initiative's phases of transformation and associated milestones, clinical and operational results.

"This award allows us to turn the technological innovation that we led through the introduction of electronic health records to over 7000 New Jersey physicians into healthcare innovation that will be measured in improved patient outcomes across major disease categories" said Donald Sebastian, president of NJII.

Tomas Gregorio, NJII's senior executive director of healthcare delivery systems, added, "The practice transformation grant enables us to migrate New Jersey physicians into a population-based model of care and treatment in line with healthcare reform. Throughout this program we will constantly reinforce the proposition that ultimately all payment for healthcare delivery must be based on better performance and improved patient outcomes. Our team has a strong head start on delivering the anticipated quality, safety, efficiency and cost return objectives."

These awards are part of a comprehensive strategy advanced by the Affordable Care Act that enables new levels of coordination, continuity, and integration of care, while transitioning volume-driven systems to value-based, patient-centered, health care services. It builds upon successful models and programs such as the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Organization Program, Partnership for Patients with Hospital Engagement Networks, and Accountable Care Organizations.

Provided by New Jersey Institute of Technology