Telehealth Improvement Community Fund | Invitation to Apply

 

 

Made possible by the California Health Care Foundation.

 

Introduction

In partnership with the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), the Center for Care Innovations (CCI) is launching a Telehealth Improvement Community Fund that supports providers in underinvested communities improve access to video visits.

 

This initiative seeks to expand access to video visits, particularly for people who have experienced economic disparities, housing and food insecurity, institutional discrimination, or violence. To assist providers in meeting their video visit access goals, the Telehealth Improvement Community Fund offers a $15,000 grant, access to tools and resources, and peer support. 

 

This initiative is designed for community health providers who want to increase video visits by learning from other organizations tackling similar issues.

Background:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, safety net providers significantly increased access to telehealth with the vast majority of telehealth visits being audio-only.

 

• In data from 30 California safety net providers serving 1.3 million patients from December 2021-February 2022, 29 percent of primary care visits were audio only and 8 percent were video.
• In February 2022, a study by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that although telehealth use is "fairly consistent" across demographic groups, video use is dramatically lower among Black, Latinx, and Asian people, those with lower incomes, older patients, and patients without a high school degree.
• Disparities in access to video telehealth could reduce quality of care for people in underinvested communities.

Despite the rapid transition to telehealth, a few leading California providers have addressed the challenges of video visits and dramatically increased their use of video, achieving up to 40 percent of primary care visits and 50 percent of behavioral health visits via video.

 

Although video visits are not the solution toward achieving health equity, they have the potential to increase access to a high quality clinical visit for people with increased barriers to care. Furthermore, recent legislation includes new requirements to promote video use and establishes restrictions for when audio-only can be used.

 

 

The Telehealth Improvement Community Fund Provides a $15,000 Grant for Up To 23 Community Health Providers.

The Telehealth Improvement Community Fund makes it easy to adapt solutions from CCI's Framework for Accessible Video Visits built from the successes of video visit leaders

Requirements to Apply and Participate:

1. Answer four brief questions about your goals, progress, and challenges with video visits (250 words max).
2. Focus on making progress on one high-leverage change from CCI's Framework for Accessible Video Visits as part of a 7-month long project.
3. Complete a brief write-up or 1 hour meeting in Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 about your results, what you did, and what helped or held back your progress. 

Telehealth Improvement Community Optional Offerings:

1. Five-Part Webinar Series on Increasing Access to Video Visits: In these live sessions you will hear from and interact with staff from providers with high rates of video visits. The series will be recorded.
2. Online Checklists & How-Tos: We have distilled the key steps to adapt promising practices from providers with high rates of video visits. Participants can explore the content and test tools at their own pace.
3. Five Office Hours with Peer Experts: Live virtual sessions with peer experts to receive advice and coaching on applying and adapting the accessible video visit framework.
4. Online Interaction: Connect with the community network of providers doing similar work. Participants can celebrate successes, overcome obstacles, and share ideas by working together.

The Telehealth Improvement Community Fund connects participants with key staff from leading organizations, such as an FQHC using video to deliver more than 20 percent of primary care visits.

How The Telehealth Improvement Community Differs From Other CCI Programs:

• Self-paced optional offerings to speed adoption of promising practices to increase video visit access.
• Does not offer personalized, one-on-one training or technical assistance.
• Limited focus on the back-office changes to support video (like billing and coding).
• No project budget or financial report required.

Who's Eligible:

We invite organizations to apply that provide primary care or behavioral care to patients regardless of their income level or insurance status.

 

Eligible organizations include California-based:

• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), FQHC look-alikes
• Behavioral Health centers, including Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)
• Indian Health Service (IHS) clinics
• Family Planning clinics
• Community clinics and free clinics
• Rural health clinics
• Clinics operated by county health systems or public hospitals

Selection Criteria:

We will base our selections on the following criteria:

• Responses to the application narrative questions focused on increasing video visits
• Geographic diversity
• Portion of patients who are on Medi-Cal or uninsured
• Serving communities below the 50th percentile on the California Healthy Places Index
• New participants to a CCI program
• Organizations with more patients

Timeline:

The Telehealth Improvement Community will operate from November 2022 through June 2023:

• October 3, 2022 - Invitation to Apply Released
• October 19, 2022 (12:00-2:00pm PST) - Webinar 1: "Aligning your Organization to Increase Video Visit Access & Informational Webinar" Register here.
• November 10, 2022 - Application Deadline
• December 5, 2022 - Telehealth Improvement Community Fund Grantees Announced
• June 2023 - Telehealth Improvement Community Fund Ends

Online Application

Application Components:

Applications should include all of the following:

Narrative Questions:

1. Overall Goal: What do you hope to accomplish to increase video visits? (max 50 words)
2. Current State: What have you tried so far to increase video visits? (max 100 words)
3. Challenges: What has been challenging for you to increase video visits?  (max 100 words)
4. Focus Area(s): Which part of CCI's Framework for Accessible Video Visits do you plan to focus on in the Telehealth Improvement Community? Select one of the following: (Note: You can change this focus area later.)
1. Understand and reduce video technology burden for patients and providers
2. Build video access into visit scheduling processes
3. Support patients to use video visit technology