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Access to Quality Care

Access to care is defined as the timely use of health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes. Quality care emphasizes health equity and assuring care meets the needs of the whole community. The vision is to improve health outcomes by ensuring that all Linn-Benton-Lincoln residents can access the right care at the right time and place.

Access to quality care impacts people with all types of health insurance, as well as people not covered by insurance. To achieve our goals in this area, it will be necessary to address financial and logistical challenges in the region. Specialized care, health navigation, and culturally-specific health services are key to equitable access to quality care.

Goals

  • Grow the regional healthcare workforce in innovative, supportive, and sustainable ways. 
  • Reduce barriers to Oregon Health Plan enrollment and the use of benefits. 
  • Ensure that care is timely, local, and empowering. 
Joyful girl with teddybear using stethoscope in clinic

Goal 1: Grow and sustain the regional health workforce

This goal addresses the need to expand the regional healthcare workforce. This includes increasing the number of providers in the region and adopting new models of care. Providers need to be available in community and non-clinical settings in order to improve health equity.

Goal 1 strategies

  • Sustainably increase the number of all levels and types of healthcare providers in the region (particularly in rural areas). Focus areas include addressing institutional barriers, prioritizing meaningful strategies for recruitment and retention of diverse talent, and exploring innovative ideas to address provider burnout.
  • Grow an electronic, closed-loop referral system between community and clinical services that supports community partners in accessing resources, meeting patient needs, gathering standardized data, and expanding community-based care.
  • Create sustainable funding mechanisms for effective community-based care delivery. Examples include establishing reimbursement guidelines and fee schedules.

Goal 2: Increase Oregon Health Plan access and use

This goal will increase the number of eligible individuals who enroll in the Oregon Health Plan. It is believed many people are unaware that they qualify for OPH or why health coverage is beneficial. The reasons for this may include:

  • difficulty in completing the OHA enrollment paperwork
  • lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate information
  • unanswered questions about OHP and Medicaid
  • temporary loss of coverage due to eligibility or disenrollment (Medicaid “churn”)

Goal 2 strategies

  1. Expand certified OHP Community Partnerships and increase OHP Assister attendance at community events. A focus area is to serve populations that have been economically and socially marginalized 
  2. Increase awareness, accessibility, and satisfaction with IHN-CCO member resources. 

Goal 3: Promote timely, local, and empowering care

This goal responds to community concerns related to quality of care. This includes:

  1. Logistic challenges to accessing care
  2. Care coordination and navigation challenges
  3. Long delays in available appointment times (particularly for establishing care with a new provider)

The need for care that is culturally/linguistically appropriate and trauma-informed is foundational to these strategies. 

Goal 3 strategies

  1. Engage in meaningful collaboration with diverse community partners to explore innovative ways to provide the right care at the right time, including use of new technologies
  2. Increase opportunities and financial support for communities that have been economically and socially marginalized to engage in evaluation and quality improvement work related to healthcare
  3. Share resources (such as best practices, policies, and training opportunities) among organizations across the region to improve the quality and consistency of care. Examples include providing gender-affirming care, language and interpreter access, and trauma-informed care and systems 

What we’re measuring:

We’re focused on ensuring timely, equitable access to high-quality healthcare services for all residents, particularly those in rural and underserved areas.

Why it matters:

Accessible and effective healthcare is critical for preventing illness, managing chronic conditions, and improving overall quality of life.

Key Progress measures:

  • Reduction in the percentage of uninsured residents.
  • Increased availability of healthcare providers, including specialists and primary care professionals.
  • Improved satisfaction and outcomes for users of Medicaid and other safety-net programs