Last year Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) launched a unique pilot project bringing 10 diverse health care, behavioral health, shelter, and social service agencies together to manage individual care through data sharing and integrated care plans for Boston’s most costly, highest-risk Medicaid homeless patients. Transcending legal and technical challenges, the goal was to allow case managers and medical providers to coordinate care, move clients to permanent housing, and ultimately reduce the total number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations by 20%. We will discuss the challenges, solutions, and potential future of the project. Specific lessons to share include moving a consortium over significant legal barriers and local organizational politics, and crafting a technical platform to serve as an integrative fabric when no one solution appears ideal.
Presenter(s): Ian Kozak, Director of Strategic Devlopment, Green River; Mary Takach, Senior Health Policy Advisor, Boston Health Care for the Homeless