Increasing access to care through digital health for the Medicaid population: a novel community case study

There is a growing consensus among healthcare professionals and policymakers that the way healthcare has historically been provided within the United States is insufficient to meet the needs of the population. The incidence and prevalence of many chronic diseases, coupled with the challenges associated with accessing prenatal care, are notable across the country and globally. In response to this problem OSF HealthCare and four federally qualified health centers partnered together to reimagine how health care can be delivered to underserved populations. This case study provides a practical perspective on how care delivery is enhanced, delivered, and improved through use of digital technologies to expand access to care and chronic disease management in the Medicaid population. Through the formation of the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative, which is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services, digital health programs tailored to individual patient needs and supported by remote and in-person digital health navigators (DHNs), are provided with 24/7/365 access to care from a diverse team of healthcare professionals. In this article, we describe the essential program elements, design, and implementation of four novel programs. While developing digital care solutions for adult Medicaid recipients across the state has been challenging, our work illustrates the feasibility of such an endeavor. To date, we have outreached to over 418,037 patients, and enrolled 38,964 in our diverse programs that include, but are not limited to, helping patients managing chronic disease, increasing access to prenatal care, offering support for health literacy and wellness, and screening for the social determinants of health.