To: Board of Supervisors
From: Anna Roth, Health Services Director
Report Title: Gift Card Incentives for Optimizing Population Health: Elevating Patients’ Engagement and Reducing Disparities
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent, or designee, to purchase on behalf of the Health Services Director, up to 2,000 Target gift cards each with a $25 value for a total not to exceed $50,000 to serve as incentives for several patient populations to obtain services including childhood immunization and well-child appointments, adult cancer screenings, and perinatal services to support the goal of reducing health disparities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this action will result in an expenditure of up to $50,000 and will be funded by Hospital Enterprise Fund I QIP (Quality Incentive Program) funding.
BACKGROUND:
Contra Costa Regional Medical Center (CCRMC) and Health Centers deliver comprehensive population health services to all patients assigned to the health system. A significant portion of our healthcare funding is linked to the Pay for Performance Project, Quality Incentive Pool (QIP), which prioritizes various aspects of population health. We are deeply committed to providing high-quality healthcare services, including primary and preventive care, while striving to meet and exceed annual performance goals to secure more than $150 million in Medi-Cal funding each year.
CCRMC leverages diverse strategies to engage the patient community in accessing and utilizing primary care services. Our data and experience suggest that incentive programs can play a pivotal role in increasing patient participation in preventive and primary disease management services, even among individuals who consider themselves generally healthy.
For children aged 0-15 months, six well-care visits are necessary; children aged 15-30 months need two visits, and those aged 3-21 years should have at least one annual visit with their primary care provider. These visits are critical as they include vital components such as immunizations, developmental screenings, and other essential health assessments. Providing incentives for completing these required visits can significantly improve compliance rates and help eliminate disparities.
We have identified lower influenza immunization rates among African American patients across all age groups. Incentive programs have proven effective in recent campaigns and could be instrumental in boosting immunization rates and addressing this disparity.
Similarly, offering incentives for life-saving cancer screenings and consistent perinatal services among adults has the potential to greatly increase participation in these essential health interventions.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this action is not approved, it could have an impact on the health and well-being of vulnerable adults and children.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
This recommendation supports the following Board of Supervisor's community outcome: Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality of Life for Children and Families.
One of our goals for well-child visits is to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes. High-quality well-child visits can improve children's health, caregivers’ behaviors to promote their children's health, and prevent injury and harm.