HealthPartners adopts community business model to deepen focus on nonclinical factors of health outcomes.

Clinical care contributes only 20 percent to overall health outcomes, according to a population health model developed at the University of Wisconsin. Factors contributing to the remainder include lifestyle behaviors, the physical environment, and social and economic forces--all generally considered outside the realm of care. In 2010 Minnesota-based HealthPartners decided to target nonclinical community health factors as a formal part of its strategic business plan to improve public health in the Twin Cities area. The strategy included creating partnerships with businesses and institutions that are generally unaccustomed to working together or considering how their actions could help improve community health. This article describes efforts to promote healthy eating in schools, reduce the stigma of mental illness, improve end-of-life decision making, and strengthen an inner-city neighborhood. Although still in their early stages, the partnerships can serve as encouragement for organizations inside and outside health care that are considering undertaking similar efforts in their markets.

The National Health Plan Collaborative to Reduce Disparities and Improve Quality.

BACKGROUND: Despite numerous reports and initiatives, progress in reducing racial/ethnic disparities in health care has been slow. The National Health Plan Collaborative (NHPC), a novel public-private partnership between nine health plans covering approximately 95 million lives, leading learning and research organizations, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was established in December 2004 to address these disparities. PROGRESS TO DATE: The health plans were able to overcame initial challenges in obtaining information on race/ethnicity of their enrollees and examined their diabetes performance measure to assess disparities in care. By February 2006, the initial nine plans that had joined the NHPC progressed from focusing solely on data collection and management issues and were engaged in outreach activities to members, providers, or community or had completed capacity development for disparities work. Five plans had implemented one or more pilot interventions. Plans also addressed unanticipated challenges, such as sorting through large amounts of data to target disparities. CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED: Because many of the plans are complex national entities with varying regional and departmental structures, simply achieving coordination of disparities activities across the organization has been a major challenge and, in many cases, a major breakthrough. CONCLUSIONS: The NHPC represents a model of shared learning and innovation through which health plans are tackling racial/ethnic disparities. Now that most of the plans have some data on their enrollees with diabetes and have begun targeting disparities, they want to capitalize on their collective industry strength to influence policy on issues related to disparities.