To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Grant Colfax, Health Services Director
Report Title: Gift Card Incentives for Optimizing Population Health: Elevating Patients’ Engagement and Reducing Disparities
Recommendation: Recommendation of the County Administrator
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 $30 value for a total amount not to exceed $60,000 to serve as incentives for engaging and repatriating several patient populations with a specific focus on Well Care Visits and Immunization in children, reducing disparity in African American Population, cancer screening, and perinatal services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this action will result in a one-time expenditure of up to $60,000 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 its healthcare funding is tied to the Pay for Performance Project and Quality Incentive Pool (QIP), which prioritize key population health outcomes. CCRMC remains committed to delivering high-quality primary and preventive care while meeting and exceeding annual performance targets to secure more than $200 million in Medi-Cal funding each year.
CCRMC uses multiple strategies to engage patients in accessing and maintaining primary care. Our experience demonstrates that incentive programs can effectively increase participation in preventive screenings, chronic disease management, and other essential services, including among patients who consider themselves generally healthy.
Incentives will be targeted to address identified care gaps and population health needs, with a focus on improving preventive care, managing chronic conditions, and reducing health disparities. Priority areas include promoting recommended well-care visits for children from birth through age 21, supporting timely immunizations, developmental assessments, lead screenings, and other essential preventive services.
Additional priorities include increasing participation in recommended, potentially life-saving cancer screenings and improving access to and completion of essential perinatal and postpartum visits, with particular attention to reducing identified disparities. Incentives will also encourage effective chronic disease management for patients with hypertension and diabetes, by promoting regular follow-up and adherence to recommended care plans.
As a potential future initiative, exploring incentives to encourage timely follow-up after hospital discharge, support continuity of care, and reduce preventable readmissions. By aligning incentives with identified care gaps and measurable population health priorities, CCRMC aims to strengthen patient engagement, improve health outcomes, reduce disparities, and support the achievement of QIP performance goals.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this action is not approved, it could negatively affect the health and well-being of vulnerable adults and children, and the performance in the related metrics.
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.