September 17, 2014
Austin, Texas – September 17, 2014 – This morning, Central Health’s Learning Collaborative updated the public and representatives of Regional Health Partnership 7 (RHP 7) on projects made possible by Texas’ 1115 Healthcare Transformation Waiver. Featured speakers included Senator Kirk Watson and Dr. Clay Johnston, the dean of Dell Medical School.
Dr. Johnston discussed the failures of the current health care system and emphasized the success of the Caring Wisely Program. Under his leadership, Caring Wisely used research and crowdsourcing to increase efficiency and dramatically decrease costs in the health care industry. Dr. Johnston plans to apply similar methods at the Dell Medical School to forge a patient-focused health care delivery system.
According to Johnston, “Opportunities for transformation definitely exist. … Ultimately we’ve got to not just be focused on the individual projects. … We need to create an ecosystem in which the barriers to create a new project are much lower.”
Central Health also hosted a panel discussion at the event to discuss the progress of transformation projects implemented in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Fayette, Lee and Travis counties. Health care initiatives in these six Central Texas communities are already having a positive impact.
Source: Taylor, Lyndsey. “Dell Medical School Dean Discusses How to Improve Health Care System.” Community Impact Newspaper. 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.