Conveners, Collaborators, and Catalysts for Change
Every NRHI Member has a story about how stakeholders come together to solve dilemmas in their local healthcare system, and these solutions apply to the nation’s healthcare system as a whole. By definition, RHICs are independent, non-profit organizations comprised of multiple stakeholders who come together to improve health and healthcare. To be a Regional Health Improvement Collaborative, four key stakeholders need to be at the table and actively involved in organizational governance and health system improvement:
- Healthcare providers
- Healthcare payers
- Healthcare purchasers
- Healthcare consumers
What is a RHIC? Download this white paper to learn more.
RHICs do not provide healthcare or pay for healthcare. They convene those who do – and the people and the communities they serve – to identify ways to catalyze change for better outcomes and lower cost.
Collaboratives establish their direction through consensus among their members. No one can fix the healthcare system alone – it will require change from providers, purchasers, and communities. Through this unique collaboration, these stakeholders are able to tackle compelling health challenges together.
NRHI’s network is comprised of approximately 35 leading Regional Health Improvement Collaboratives and state-affiliated partners. These Collaboratives have demonstrated a unique ability to work with providers and other community stakeholders to measure and improve quality and reduce costs in their states and regions.
Download this white paper on the roles of RHICs.
Regional Health Improvement Collaboratives share common strategies to address local priorities. Some focus on improving population health and reducing disparities. Others have developed novel approaches to care management and delivery system redesign, payment reform, and reducing waste and inefficiency. By working closely with local stakeholders, they can address the issues that matter most in their communities. Despite their uniqueness, each Collaborative is bound together by common goals and a shared understanding of what ails U.S. healthcare and how to fix it.
Furthermore, most Collaboratives have access to multi-payer claims databases and many combine claims data from multiple commercial payers and Medicaid to measure and analyze the quality and cost of healthcare in their communities. This enables them to identify key approaches for improvement and measure progress. We have known for 30 years that healthcare cost and quality varies by region. RHICs – with their local data and stakeholder engagement, are now positioned to address that variation and transform care community-by- community. RHICs lend a neutral voice and meaningful information to the discussion on how to make care better.
- We work together with everyone who gets care, gives care, and pays for care, to create the system that everyone needs.
- We are where competition and collaboration meet.
- We know that more can be done together than by tackling these challenges separately.
