Development of information and communication technology (ICT) for a coordinated healthcare program serving low income, chronically ill children

Abstract

This case report describes the development of information and communication technology (ICT) for a large scale, federally funded demonstration healthcare Program designed to treat low-income children and adolescents with chronic medical conditions. The ICT developers faced the challenge of supporting a Program with many components to treat pediatric patients with one or more chronic health conditions. The Program's ICT provided means and materials to train and monitor Community Health Workers (CHWs) and the Care Coordination Team (CCT) and to provide disease-specific information to patients and caregivers. The Program ICT was organized into five components: (1) Data Storage Systems, (2) Care Coordination Software, (3) On-line Patient Education, (4) a Social Services Referral component, and (5) Patient Engagement software. The average cost of providing care services to the engaged population utilizing the ICT was $7.39 per member per month (PMPM) and $20.33 PMPM for the subset of children who received direct outreach and services. A description of the Program's ICT development, functioning, strengths, and weaknesses is presented.