PCDC Launches Primary Care Innovation Network

July 28, 2015 (New York, NY) – The Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) has launched the Primary Care Innovation Network (PCIN) (www.pcin.org), a new website to help safety net primary care providers improve performance and undertake healthcare transformation initiatives. PCIN features a library of tools and resources to benefit primary care providers and their practices, and provides forums to discuss best practices and challenges in transforming care. “Primary care is being called upon to play a central role in coordinating patient care, improving health outcomes and lowering costs,” said PCDC CEO Ronda Kotelchuck. “With healthcare transformation efforts underway – particularly among safety net providers – PCIN can help providers improve their practices so they can fully participate in this rapidly evolving healthcare environment.” Based largely on PCDC’s expertise helping hundreds of practices improve primary care access and services for underserved communities, PCIN’s tools and resources – all of which are free to download – can help providers tackle issues like: • Patient Access & Practice Operations (e.g., patient visit time calculator, scheduling workflows)• Care Coordination & Management (e.g., sample job descriptions, courses for healthcare workers, and care planning tools)• Patient-Centered Medical Home: (e.g., NCQA PCMH 2014 workplan template, PCMH financial sustainability toolkit).• Health Information Technology: (e.g., risk assessments, PCMH HIT requirements)• HIV Prevention Integration: (e.g., HIV integration checklist, clinical guidelines) PCIN also features resources created by the Community Health Care Association of New York State and NYC REACH (a program operated by the NYC DOHMH Primary Care Information Project), and others. PCDC encourages organizations to share resources through PCIN. PCIN’s Discussion Forums connect providers, experts and other stakeholders, enabling them to share experiences on these and other topics with other healthcare providers and industry experts, and its Project Incubator spotlights innovative PCDC primary care projects. Registration on PCIN is required only for those wishing to post comments. "PCIN is a terrific resource for health centers like Open Door. The tools on care coordination are so relevant in today’s healthcare environment. I'm planning to use many of these tools right away and share them with my team and other colleagues,” said Andrea Beltran Ruggiero, Director of Care Coordination and Wellness Initiatives at Open Door Family Medical Center, a federally qualified health center based in Ossining, NY.