Stories of Innovation
Innovation occurs when we break free from an old way of thinking and embrace a new, more effective way of solving a problem or meeting a need. At Primary Care Progress, we believe athe power of creative thinking is essential to transforming primary care. Across the country, clinicians have decided they can no longer wait on top-down change in the health care system. They’re taking primary care innovation into their own hands-- trying out new models and approaches they hope will improve access to and quality of care, provide patients with an overall better experience and reduce the traditional clinician’s workload.
What does innovation in primary care look like? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to innovation in primary care. Just as practices are unique- with different needs, strengths and challenges- so are their approaches to improving health care delivery. Innovations can be micro or macro. They might change the way a clinic is staffed. They might add ipads to the waiting room. Or they might trouble-shoot patient bottlenecks in the practice.
We've collected just a small handful of these stories in our new series, "Stories of Innovation." It's our way of sharing some of the unique and diverse stories of innovation with the primary care community. We hope they might provide models, inspiration, and ideas with the community. We hope they will encourage other innovators to keep going with their projects and to share their stories with the community.
So, what's your innovation story?
What does innovation in primary care look like? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to innovation in primary care. Just as practices are unique- with different needs, strengths and challenges- so are their approaches to improving health care delivery. Innovations can be micro or macro. They might change the way a clinic is staffed. They might add ipads to the waiting room. Or they might trouble-shoot patient bottlenecks in the practice.
We've collected just a small handful of these stories in our new series, "Stories of Innovation." It's our way of sharing some of the unique and diverse stories of innovation with the primary care community. We hope they might provide models, inspiration, and ideas with the community. We hope they will encourage other innovators to keep going with their projects and to share their stories with the community.
So, what's your innovation story?
The Videos
Walking in the Patient's Footsteps: Revere Family Health, MA
About this Innovation Story:
"Walking in the Patient's Footsteps" is an innovative program practiced at the Revere Family Health Center in Revere, MA. The program shadows patients throughout their health care experience at the clinic. Students play a major role in the program.
About the Innovators:
Nikita Srinivasan is an International Health major at Georgetown University. This past summer, she was the Patient-Centered-Medical Home Development Intern at Cambridge Health Alliance. Nikita decided to intern at CHA to get more exposure to primary care.
Dr. Soma Stout is an internist and pediatrician, Medical Staff President at Cambridge Health Alliance, and Co-Medical Director at Revere Family Health. One of her roles at CHA is to mentor students in innovation.
“Students can be invaluable observers and listeners to the patient’s voice in a way people farther along in their careers can’t hear. Some of our best innovations in our medical home transformation really came from students "Walking in the Footsteps of Patients" - in making those observations caught key things that we didn’t hear or we didn’t know because we just hadn’t heard it." -Dr. Soma Stout
About the Clinic:
Revere Family Health Center is a Patient-Centered Medical Home site that is part of the Cambridge Health Alliance, an award-winning healthcare system serving the communities north of Boston, MA.
About the Video:
This video is a collaboration between Revere Family Health Center, Dr. Matt Press (Weill Cornell Medical Center), Eric Lu (Harvard Medical School) and Primary Care Progress.
Resources:
Dr. Soma Stout speaking about the primary health care crisis on CNN
Dr. Soma Stout speaking about innovation
Dr. Soma Stout's Progress Note
Revere Family Health website
The Check In Tracker: Southeast Health Center, CA
About this Innovation Story:
During his year working with Southeast Health Center, David Margolius changed patient management at the clinic by using a shared Google Doc to make it easy for staff and providers to communicate in real time, without walkie-talkies, pagers, and interruptions.
About the Innovators:
David Margolius is a resident at UCSF and is pursuing a career in internal medicine primary care. Between his third and fourth years of medical school at Brown University, David spent a year working with community health center staff and physicians in San Francisco to improve their delivery of primary care. David is working with PCP as our Innovation Collaboratives Team Advisor.
Mark Ghaly, is the Deputy Director for Community Health for the LA County Dept of Health Services. His role at the Dept of Health Services focuses on how community resources and community efforts can help build a stronger and richer health services delivery system in the safety net. Prior to his current position, Dr. Ghaly was the medical director at a San Francisco Dept of Public Health Clinic called Southeast Health Center in the Bayview Hunters Point community. He currently sees patients at the Juvenile Halls and Camps throughout the Los Angeles County. Dr. Ghaly attended Brown University and received his MD and his MPH in health policy from Harvard University. He completed his residency in pediatrics at UCSF.
About the Clinic:
Southeast Health Center is a community-oriented primary care clinic in San Francisco. Through Healthy San Francisco, a program created by the City of San Francisco, Southeast and other clinics make health care services accessible and affordable for uninsured residents. The program offers a new way for San Francisco residents who do not have health insurance, to have basic and ongoing medical care.
About the Video:
This interview was filmed by Primary Care Progress.
Resources:
David Margolius' Progress Notes
Southeast Health Center
Making Room for Education: Baylor Family Medicine, TX
About this Innovation Story:
"Making Room for Medical Education" is a project that Baylor College of Medicine fourth year medical student, Traci Fraser, took on with the staff of Baylor Family Medicine in Houston. The goal of the project was to find the resources to add a Medal Educator to the clinic staff.
About the Innovator:
Traci Fraser is a PCP chapter member and a fourth year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine. A lecture on patient-centered medical homes as a part of her family medicine rotation piqued her interest in the topic and led to a collaboration on an innovation project at Baylor Family Medicine.
About the Clinic:
Baylor Family Medicine is the private practice of faculty physicians from the department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Baylor Family Medicine has been recognized for its efforts to improve quality and efficiency of care by the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Physician Practice Connections®-Patient-Centered Medical Home program.
About the Video:
This interview was filmed and edited by Primary Care Progress.
Resources:
Baylor Family Medicine
About this Innovation Story:
"Walking in the Patient's Footsteps" is an innovative program practiced at the Revere Family Health Center in Revere, MA. The program shadows patients throughout their health care experience at the clinic. Students play a major role in the program.
About the Innovators:
Nikita Srinivasan is an International Health major at Georgetown University. This past summer, she was the Patient-Centered-Medical Home Development Intern at Cambridge Health Alliance. Nikita decided to intern at CHA to get more exposure to primary care.
Dr. Soma Stout is an internist and pediatrician, Medical Staff President at Cambridge Health Alliance, and Co-Medical Director at Revere Family Health. One of her roles at CHA is to mentor students in innovation.
“Students can be invaluable observers and listeners to the patient’s voice in a way people farther along in their careers can’t hear. Some of our best innovations in our medical home transformation really came from students "Walking in the Footsteps of Patients" - in making those observations caught key things that we didn’t hear or we didn’t know because we just hadn’t heard it." -Dr. Soma Stout
About the Clinic:
Revere Family Health Center is a Patient-Centered Medical Home site that is part of the Cambridge Health Alliance, an award-winning healthcare system serving the communities north of Boston, MA.
About the Video:
This video is a collaboration between Revere Family Health Center, Dr. Matt Press (Weill Cornell Medical Center), Eric Lu (Harvard Medical School) and Primary Care Progress.
Resources:
Dr. Soma Stout speaking about the primary health care crisis on CNN
Dr. Soma Stout speaking about innovation
Dr. Soma Stout's Progress Note
Revere Family Health website
The Check In Tracker: Southeast Health Center, CA
About this Innovation Story:
During his year working with Southeast Health Center, David Margolius changed patient management at the clinic by using a shared Google Doc to make it easy for staff and providers to communicate in real time, without walkie-talkies, pagers, and interruptions.
About the Innovators:
David Margolius is a resident at UCSF and is pursuing a career in internal medicine primary care. Between his third and fourth years of medical school at Brown University, David spent a year working with community health center staff and physicians in San Francisco to improve their delivery of primary care. David is working with PCP as our Innovation Collaboratives Team Advisor.
Mark Ghaly, is the Deputy Director for Community Health for the LA County Dept of Health Services. His role at the Dept of Health Services focuses on how community resources and community efforts can help build a stronger and richer health services delivery system in the safety net. Prior to his current position, Dr. Ghaly was the medical director at a San Francisco Dept of Public Health Clinic called Southeast Health Center in the Bayview Hunters Point community. He currently sees patients at the Juvenile Halls and Camps throughout the Los Angeles County. Dr. Ghaly attended Brown University and received his MD and his MPH in health policy from Harvard University. He completed his residency in pediatrics at UCSF.
About the Clinic:
Southeast Health Center is a community-oriented primary care clinic in San Francisco. Through Healthy San Francisco, a program created by the City of San Francisco, Southeast and other clinics make health care services accessible and affordable for uninsured residents. The program offers a new way for San Francisco residents who do not have health insurance, to have basic and ongoing medical care.
About the Video:
This interview was filmed by Primary Care Progress.
Resources:
David Margolius' Progress Notes
Southeast Health Center
Making Room for Education: Baylor Family Medicine, TX
About this Innovation Story:
"Making Room for Medical Education" is a project that Baylor College of Medicine fourth year medical student, Traci Fraser, took on with the staff of Baylor Family Medicine in Houston. The goal of the project was to find the resources to add a Medal Educator to the clinic staff.
About the Innovator:
Traci Fraser is a PCP chapter member and a fourth year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine. A lecture on patient-centered medical homes as a part of her family medicine rotation piqued her interest in the topic and led to a collaboration on an innovation project at Baylor Family Medicine.
About the Clinic:
Baylor Family Medicine is the private practice of faculty physicians from the department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Baylor Family Medicine has been recognized for its efforts to improve quality and efficiency of care by the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Physician Practice Connections®-Patient-Centered Medical Home program.
About the Video:
This interview was filmed and edited by Primary Care Progress.
Resources:
Baylor Family Medicine