Today the Virginia Center for Health Innovation (VCHI) released an update on the accomplishments of the Virginia Task Force on Primary Care. The task force was formed in July 2020 both as a response to the immense strain on primary care clinicians from the COVID pandemic and a need to better ensure the long-term sustainability of and access to primary care services for the Commonwealth’s patients.

One of the first needs the group identified was access to personal protective equipment (PPE) for primary care clinicians.  Shortages of PPE, especially N95 masks, have been widely publicized. Unlike hospitals with established supply chains, primary care practices have struggled to identify vetted vendors and meet significant minimum order requirements. Primary care clinicians are the front line – often doing a significant amount of COVID testing – so access to PPE is critical.

Today in his press briefing, Governor Ralph Northam announced the creation of a task force on primary care in partnership with the Virginia Center for Health Innovation (VCHI) and Secretary of Health and Human Resources Daniel Carey.
The Governor’s Task Force on Primary Care comes as primary care physicians report that the COVID pandemic has caused financial stress and layoffs in their practices. 

Today, the Virginia Center for Health Innovation (VCHI) announced the creation of a new partnership with the Center for Professionalism and Value in Health Care and the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation to develop, test and advance primary care “Measures That Matter” in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

In addition to our stories page, our team wanted to create a separate resource to support healthcare workers during these challenging times. Below is a collection of virtual supports and tools we found for health care workers to take a pause and take care of themselves.

Today, at a meeting of the Virginia Center for Health Innovation’s (VCHI) board and leadership council, Virginia Health and Human Resources Secretary Daniel Carey, announced the creation of an employer task force as part of VCHI’s new Smarter Care Virginia initiative. Smarter Care Virginia, launched in March 2019, is a statewide pilot focused on the reduction of low-value health services. The project is funded by a three-year, $2.2M grant from Arnold Ventures.

Today, at a meeting of the Virginia Center for Health Innovation’s board and leadership council, Lynn Quincy, director of Altarum’s Healthcare Value Hub, presented results of the Virginia Consumer Healthcare Experience State Survey. More than half (55%) of the 1,100 adults that responded to the survey indicated they experienced healthcare affordability burdens in the last year and over three-quarters (78%) were worried about affording healthcare in the future.

Ann Arbor, Michigan – March 13, 2019 – Today, at the University of Michigan’s Value-Based Insurance Design Summit, Virginia’s Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Dr. Daniel Carey, announced that the non-profit Virginia Center for Health Innovation (VCHI) had secured support from Arnold Ventures through a $2.2 M grant to launch a statewide pilot to