The New York Health Plan Association regularly teams with physicians, hospitals and other providers, as well as legislators, regulators and consumers on joint initiatives. These joint efforts are designed to improve the quality of health care being delivered to New Yorkers, facilitate the communication of information to all parties, and enhance New York´s health care system for all. Current HPA Initiatives include:
- New York Quality Alliance — a statewide multi-stakeholder collaborative funded by the Department of Health´s Pay-for-Performance Demonstration project designed to guide the adoption and use of evidence-based medicine to measure, report, drive improvements and financially reward quality care. delivered by physicians and hospitals that have good patient outcomes. In February 2008, the NYQA was one of 14 Charted Value Exchanges designated by the Department of Health and Human Services. This designation affords the NYQA the opportunity to present information from Medicare that measures the quality of care physicians deliver to patients. These performance measurement results may be combined with similar private-sector data to produce more comprehensive information on the quality of care available across the state.
- New York Diabetes Coalition — a unique private/public partnership designed to raise awareness about the disease and improve care for diabetes patients.
- Asthma — a Department of Health-led initiative to develop and implement a statewide guideline for the treatment of asthma.
- Tobacco Cessation — HPA plans developed and endorsed a common smoking cessation guideline and physician’s guide aimed at helping patients become tobacco free.
- Cancer Screening Guidelines — HPA member plans adopted the New York Health Plan Association Member Plans Adult Preventive Health Guidelines for Cancer Screening, evidence-based clinical preventive services recommendations that emphasize and promote the importance of early detection through appropriate screening tests.
- New York State Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative — a voluntary collaborative between HPA and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to develop an educational campaign designed to improve colorectal cancer screening rates in New York.
- Health Care Fraud — a statewide campaign to educate consumers about the cost and impact of health insurance fraud, and to enlist consumers in the fight to report and reduce fraud.
- Health Information Exchange of New York (HIXNY) — a joint venture involving the HPA and the Iroquois Healthcare Alliance to establish a technology infrastructure to enable physicians, hospitals and payers to share information and resources and to conduct business using a standardized approach.
Past initiatives involving HPA and member plans include:
- Obesity Surgery Project — a special workgroup, comprised of health plans and leading bariatric surgeons, convened for the purpose of developing and disseminating a set of guidelines for patients, providers and facilities related to the practice of obesity surgery.
- SASNY: Save Antibiotic Strength New York — a statewide campaign to educate the public and health care professional community about the problem of drug resistant bacteria and to reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics.
- Cultural Competence Training Project — a grant-funded project designed to address issues of access and utilization of health care disparities among immigrant and minority communities in New York City.