DAFP/NJAFP team offers Practice Transformation Services

DCHI selects NJAFP as vendor for Practice Transformation Services Project.

The New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians (NJAFP) was recently awarded the role as vendor for the Practice Transformation Services Project offered by the Delaware Center for Health Innovation (DCHI). DCHI’s main goals for this Project comprise better health, improved healthcare quality and patient experience, lower healthcare costs for all of Delaware’s residents and improved provider experience. NJAFP will be working in close collaboration with the Delaware Academy of Family Physicians (DAFP) to fulfill the vendor role.

As a collective, the NJAFP/DAFP Healthcare Transformation Team is highly qualified to provide services for this Project. Our experience working in the primary care practice setting, and as the advocacy organization for primary care providers, means we have a distinct understanding of how the work being done with this Project could accelerate the rapid transformation required for the success of primary care practice transformation throughout Delaware. The NJAFP and DAFP have the unique distinction of being solely dedicated to the success of family physicians and their patients. We are committed to ensuring that family physicians in Delaware are armed with the tools to deliver the value that they are uniquely suited to provide to their patients and the healthcare system.

NJAFP and DAFP combined have an experienced, knowledgeable, multi-disciplinary Healthcare Transformation Team that is available to successfully support practice transformation activities in primary care practices. Academy staff will work with enrolled practices to assess each practice’s transformation status, and provide coaching and educational opportunities designed to assist practices in achieving transformation as defined by the DCHI.

Demonstrated Effectiveness with Practice Transformation

Established in 1949, NJAFP provides expert services for practices including: practice transformation, patient centered medical home (PCMH) recognition, continuing medical education (CME), quality improvement (QI) initiatives, leadership and staff training, and workforce redesign.

Since 2009, NJAFP has worked with more than 1500 physicians in approximately 1000 locations across five states on practice transformation and PCMH activities. Of the projects where NJAFP provided coaching to achieve PCMH recognition, 1% of practices were awarded Level 1 recognition, 3% were awarded Level 2 recognition, and 96% were awarded Level 3 recognition.

NJAFP has worked with solo physician practices, as well as small, medium and large practices, integrated delivery systems and federally qualified community health centers, residency programs and many other healthcare stakeholders and organizations.

As the membership organization for family physicians, NJAFP has been a leader in developing and providing CME to physicians for more than 15 years, and has successfully completed more than 100 programs locally and nationally. QI experience includes on-line programs including a robust Performance in Practice compendium offered through the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), which provided physicians with opportunities to use NJAFP programs for Maintenance of Certification. In conjunction with DCHI’s robust set of developed resources, NJAFP is qualified to implement the activities intended to produce practice transformation in this Project.

Our process is successful because it was developed based on a proven, flexible change model. Building on this model, we created a process of deployment targeted toward primary care practice needs and challenges. Our model enables us to effectively determine how likely, or ready, a practice is to absorb a major change; identify and address early challenges with leadership or staff; determine the level of support needed for transformation; and provide support to assist practices in meeting goals.

Practice Participation

Through a grant-funded contract with the state of Delaware, NJAFP and DAFP will provide practices with:

  • On-site and remote coaching from practice transformation experts
  • Access to a transformation-targeted educational curriculum and region-based learning collaboratives
  • A comprehensive pre-transformation practice assessment, followed by semi-annual assessments
  • A practice-specific plan for conversion to value-based payment models
  • Accredited Continuing Education (for applicable activities)

Eligible practices include primary care practices of all sizes with little or no transformation experience, partial transformation experience and/or PCMH certification, and can include members of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Clinical Integration Networks (CINs) and health systems.

While participating practices have a choice in which experts they choose to realize their transformation goals, we sincerely hope you will join NJAFP and DAFP on this important journey.

For more information, and to speak with someone about enrolling your practice in DCHI’s Practice Transformation Services Project, please go tohttps://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PTS_DE and provide your contact information.