St. Pete Catalyst; Published By Mark Parker
Kids throughout Tampa Bay will now receive enhanced coordinated care and increased access to specialists that will improve outcomes and ultimately save lives – thanks to an ambitious, data-driven initiative.
St. Petersburg’s Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital recently launched the first and only pediatric clinically integrated network (CIN) on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Community physicians from Hernando to Charlotte County now share best practices, patient records, clinical data and other resources to benefit patients and providers.
Dr. Tony Napolitano, chair of the All Children’s Care Network (ACCN), said the extensive collaboration would reduce avoidable and costly hospital stays and trips to emergency rooms. It also increases the likelihood that kids and their physicians – especially those in rural areas – receive the highest quality care.
“I think it improves the health of children,” Napolitano said. “I think that’s what your goal is – to really improve the lives of the children you’re caring for.
The ACCN is a physician-led and governed organization focused exclusively on pediatric patients. Napolitano said team members could speak directly to families, explain processes and ensure kids receive the proper medications and treatments.
Those aspects combine to optimize long-term health outcomes, he added. Gerrit VanBruggen, senior director of strategy, said CIN officials would collectively work to identify and share best practices throughout the region as part of network resources that many stakeholders “don’t have available today.”
As with many new initiatives, data and analytics are at the forefront of what the St. Pete institution hopes to accomplish through the ACCN. He noted All Children’s has a team that “surrounds those resources.” Read more
