Organization Design- DRIVE Case Study
DRIVE (Diabetes Rewards Issued Via Everyone) is a program that was implemented at Austin Health Center (AHC), which is one of the health facilities at Cook County. This program was implemented after a survey that revealed that the health center neighborhood is inhabited by minority African American who has limited access to medical care since there are limited health care providers and most of the diabetes patients are not insured while others do not qualified for the public medical aid.
In addition, the program, AHC has limited finances and resources to meet the high demand for health care by the diabetes patients. Through implementation of this program, the patients will have a central role in managing diabetes through multistation visitation that eventually empowers the patients, and this enable patient to play an active role in the management of diabetes. Another role is that this program is that a group of patients access health care at the same time reducing costs and providers workload. (Vachon, et, al, 2007).
The program DRIVE day is aimed at increasing the ability of the diabetes patients to access medical care in a comprehensive way by making them to play an active role through the support of the limited health providers. AHC uses bridging care planner that is supported by GSK and targets Cook residents who are mainly African Americans with low income. AHC has four full time care providers and DRIVE and the demand for the medical care by the diabetes patients is so high that most of the care providers are double-booked (Hadley & Cunningham, 2004). In efforts by AHC through DRIVE to provide the most efficient and effective medical care, DRIVE focuses on a number of issues that include
Delivering educational knowledge to the diabetes patients,
Reducing the time spent by the patients while waiting to get the medical care,
Saving time by the health care providers while serving the patients since through DRIVE, the patients would be served in groups
Creating additional capacity and hence reducing the number of patients on the waiting list, and Enhancing a successful group experience (Hadley & Cunningham, 2004)
Implementation of this program has been success since more patients have been able to access the usual medical care for diabetes patients who would have previously faced challenges in accessing care. This has reduced high mortality rate associated with diabetes, another advantage associated with this program is that complications associated with diabetes have been reduced. Since the patients are served in groups, the workload for the health care providers is reduced. Group discussion also aid in providing care in that more African Americans diabetes victims are able to access the usual medical care like other Americans. Evidence from the DRIVE day visit analysis reveal that diabetes patients have greatly benefited from this program and have repeated visitations during the monthly meetings. According to Vachon (2007), Austin neighborhood patients have experienced higher access; according to him, thirty new individuals were able to access care though these groups instead of the 9-month waiting list (Vachon, 2007).
The DRIVE program is therefore a beneficial program to diabetes patients implemented in Austin Health Center (AHC), with limited providers, and patients have been able to access health care in a way that patients play an active role in medical care. African Americans who are the majority and have low income can now access health care conveniently through this program. It is evident that the main objectives of the program are to delivering educational knowledge to the diabetes patients, reducing the time spent by the patients while waiting to get the medical care. Saving time by the health care providers while serving the patients since through DRIVE, the patients would be served in groups. Creating additional capacity and hence reducing the number of patients on the waiting list, and enhancing a successful group experience. In efforts to improve the program, I would recommend the program to subscribe in the social media or have a website where the stakeholders can interact in real time. This can be beneficial to the patients and the employed diabetes patients who cannot attend the DRIVE day meetings. Through that, the program will reach more clients in a cost effective way.
References
Hadley J., & Cunningham P. (2004). Availability of safety net providers and access to care of uninsured persons. Health Serv Res. 39, 1527-1546.
Smedley B, Stith A, Nelson A, (2003). Unequal treatment: confronting racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine
Vachon, G. C., Ezike, N., Brown-Walker, M., Chhay,V., Pikelny, I.,& Pendergraft, T.B. (2007). Improving Access to Diabetes Care in an Inner City, Community-Based Outpatient Health Center with a Monthly Open-Access, Multistation Group Visit Program. Journal of the National Medical Association. 99 (12), 1327-1336.
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