(1) The authority, in collaboration with the department of health and the department of social and health services, shall:

(a) Design and implement medical homes for its aged, blind, and disabled clients in conjunction with chronic care management programs to improve health outcomes, access, and cost-effectiveness. Programs must be evidence based, facilitating the use of information technology to improve quality of care, must acknowledge the role of primary care providers and include financial and other supports to enable these providers to effectively carry out their role in chronic care management, and must improve coordination of primary, acute, and long-term care for those clients with multiple chronic conditions. The authority shall consider expansion of existing medical home and chronic care management programs and build on the Washington state collaborative initiative. The authority shall use best practices in identifying those clients best served under a chronic care management model using predictive modeling through claims or other health risk information; and

(b) Evaluate the effectiveness of current chronic care management efforts in the authority and the department, comparison to best practices, and recommendations for future efforts and organizational structure to improve chronic care management.

(2) For purposes of this section:

(a) "Medical home" means a site of care that provides comprehensive preventive and coordinated care centered on the patient needs and assures high quality, accessible, and efficient care.

(b) "Chronic care management" means the authority's program that provides care management and coordination activities for medical assistance clients determined to be at risk for high medical costs. "Chronic care management" provides education and training and/or coordination that assist program participants in improving self-management skills to improve health outcomes and reduce medical costs by educating clients to better utilize services.

Effective date—Findings—Intent—Report—Agency transfer—References to head of health care authority—Draft legislation—2011 1st sp.s. c 15: See notes following RCW 74.09.010.

Subheadings not law—2007 c 259: See note following RCW 7.70.060.