AHRQ’s Health Care Innovations Exchange Focuses on Community-Wide Initiatives To Enhance Access for Vulnerable Populations

The latest issue of AHRQ’s Health Care Innovations Exchange features three profiles about community-wide initiatives to increase access to health care for vulnerable populations. One featured profile describes a community-funded, nonprofit organization called Doctors Care that matches eligible uninsured and underinsured patients in a three-county area outside of Denver County, CO, with providers who agree to serve them at a discounted rate. High levels of participation among area providers and enhanced patient access to care has led to a 15 percent rate of emergency department visits by Doctors Care patients, well below the 21 percent national average for uninsured patients. Other innovation profiles and tools related to collaborative efforts to enhance access for vulnerable populations are located on the Innovations Exchange Web site, which contains more than 825 searchable innovations and 1,550 quality tools.