Project Armadillo: Guidance for Leadership in Design and Operations of Primary Care Facilities, 2015-2040
I’m working with colleagues at CSI, LLC. and ARCare, Inc. on a project to guide primary care leaders as they work to design and operate primary care facilities over the next 25 years. We’ve targeted leaders at federally-qualified community health centers (FQHCs) as our initial project customers.
ARCare, Inc. (www.arcare.net) is an FQHC headquartered in Augusta, Arkansas and provides services in forty-five locations in two states. ARCare inspires our initial project name and logo and anchors the voice of the customer.
CSI Solutions, LLC (www.spreadinnovation.com) is a Bethesda, Maryland technology and consulting firm focused on innovation in health care. CSI Solutions currently supports the roll-out of the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Why this Work?
Ambulatory care is undergoing a profound transformation as it moves away from a model that is provider-centric and reactive, dominated by discrete episodes of care.
Key drivers of the transformation include changes in payment for health services, the impact of information technology, growing populations of patients with one or more chronic diseases and decline in joy in work for providers.
The old care model typically centered on one clinician supported by one or two staff, which will not meet the current need to expand services and increase value. Simultaneously, many ambulatory care organizations must retrofit existing facilities or build new facilities to accommodate more patients and services. Facilities will move from individual offices to collocated staff, with space for group visits, care coordination, and education for both staff and patients. Leading ambulatory care practices are also exploring ways to better optimize technology to support their work.
As few organizations have the luxury to build only greenfield facilities, a clear vision of future primary practice must help drive choices in retrofitting and renovating spaces as well as new facilities. Our project seeks to develop that vision as a first step.
The sketch of our project plan shows the vision as driving practical guidance and case examples, which in turn will help us to revise the vision.
Want to learn more? Send me a note, klittle at iecodesign.com or call me directly 608-251-4355. We’re testing ideas right now with an ARCare renovation in Paducah, Kentucky and plan to have our initial expert meeting this coming May.
