Strategies

What Works for Health includes evidence-informed strategies to create communities where everyone can thrive.

Behavioral health primary care integration

Revise health care processes and provider roles to integrate mental health and substance abuse treatment into primary care; continue to refer patients with severe conditions to specialty care

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Case-managed care for community-dwelling frail elders

Use a case management model for frail elderly patients living independently, coordinating aspects of long-term care (LTC) such as status assessment, monitoring, advocacy, care planning, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Chronic disease management programs

Implement multi-component efforts that include coordination of health services by multidisciplinary teams of health care professionals, patient self-management, and patient education

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Chronic disease self-management (CDSM) programs

Provide educational and behavioral interventions that support patients’ ability to actively manage their condition(s) in everyday life

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Community water fluoridation

Adjust and monitor fluoride levels in public water supplies to reach and retain optimal fluoride concentrations

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Comprehensive clinic-based programs for pregnant & parenting teens

Address the needs of teenage parents via clinic-based programs that provide health care and family planning services as well as case management, counseling, and other supports

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Cultural competence training for health care professionals

Increase health care providers’ skills and knowledge to understand and respond to cultural differences, value diversity, etc. via factual information, skills training, and other efforts

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Culturally adapted health care

Tailor health care to patients’ norms, beliefs, and values, as well as their language and literacy skills

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs)

Increase support for non-profit health care organizations and deliver comprehensive care to uninsured, underinsured, and vulnerable patients regardless of ability to pay; often called community health centers (CHCs)

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Health insurance enrollment outreach & support

Provide outreach and support to assist those whose employers do not offer affordable coverage, who are self-employed, or who are unemployed

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Integrated long-term care for community-dwelling frail elders

Support a collaborative approach by a multidisciplinary team of professionals working to meet the full range of long-term care (LTC) needs for frail elderly patients living in community settings

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Medical homes

Provide continuous, comprehensive, whole person primary care that uses a coordinated team of medical providers across the health care system

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Mental health benefits legislation

Regulate mental health insurance to increase access to mental health services, including treatment for substance use disorders

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Multi-component fall prevention interventions for older adults

Provide a fixed, multi-component set of fall prevention interventions to older adults, usually in community settings, without an individualized risk assessment

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Nurse practitioner scope of practice

Use regulation to extend nurse practitioners’ (NPs’) scope of practice to provide care to the full scope of their training and skills without physician oversight, especially for primary care

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Patient financial incentives for preventive care

Use gift cards, vouchers, and other incentives to encourage patients to undergo preventive care such as screenings, vaccinations, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Patient navigators

Provide culturally sensitive assistance and care coordination, and guide patients through available medical, insurance, and social support; also called systems navigators

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Patient safety checklists

Use visual tools to prompt safe practices, standardize communication, and ensure no step is forgotten before, during, or after a medical procedure or other health care situation

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Patient shared decision making

Support joint decision making between health care practitioners and patients through shared decision making (SDM); part of patient-centered care

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Practice facilitation for primary care

Engage practice coaches or facilitators to work with primary care clinic staff to redesign clinical practices, organize quality improvement efforts, improve communication, share best practices, etc.

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Professionally trained medical interpreters

Provide interpretation services for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) in outpatient and inpatient health care settings, following training and certification

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Risk assessments & personalized approaches to fall prevention among older adults

Conduct individual assessments that gauge older adults’ risk of falling and develop personalized approaches to help prevent falls

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Rural training in medical education

Expand medical school training and learning experiences focused on the skills necessary to practice successfully in rural areas

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School dental programs

Provide sealants, fluoride treatment, screening, and other preventive dental care on school grounds via partnerships with dental professionals

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

School-based health centers

Provide health care services on school premises to attending elementary, middle, and high school students; physical and mental health services provided by teams of nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Text message-based health interventions

Provide reminders, education, or self-management assistance for health conditions, especially chronic diseases, via text message

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

Value-based insurance design

Create financial incentives or remove financial disincentives to affect consumer choices and incentivize provision of cost efficient health care services

Evidence Rating:

Scientifically Supported

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