Charlene Wong, MD, Executive Director of NC InCK, was among the co-authors of an article in the journal Healthcare aiming to identify needed capabilities and potential solutions for implementing pediatric accountable health communities.
Accountable Health Communities (AHCs), also referred to as Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs), are an emerging care delivery model that involves addressing patients’ medical and health-related social needs through multi-sector community partnerships to improve health outcomes and reduce costs.
The article’s authors, led by Gary Wang of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, conducted a directed content analysis of responses to a Request for Information (RFI) from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation on the Integrated Care for Kids Model. They also interviewed pediatric health policy stakeholders to further investigate responses from the RFI.
The authors found that pediatric AHCs could provide more integrated, high-value care for children. Respondents highlighted the need for shared infrastructure and cross-sector alignment of measures and financing.