The Commonwealth Fund

Overview

Case studies of three organizations participating in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Triple Aim initiative shed light on how they are partnering with providers and organizing care to improve the health of a population and patients' experience of care while lowering—or at least reducing the rate of increase in—the per capita cost of care. The organizations—CareOregon, a nonprofit managed health care plan serving low-income Medicaid enrollees; Genesys Health System, a nonprofit integrated delivery system in Flint, Mich.; and QuadMed, a Wisconsin-based subsidiary of printer Quad/Graphics that develops and manages worksite health clinics and wellness programs—were selected to illustrate diverse approaches. Lessons from these organizations can guide others who wish to undertake or promote transformation in health care delivery.

This study was based on publicly available information and self-reported data provided by the case study institution(s). The aim of Commonwealth Fund–sponsored case studies of this type is to identify institutions that have achieved results indicating high performance in a particular area of interest, have undertaken innovations designed to reach higher performance, or exemplify attributes that can foster high performance. The studies are intended to enable other institutions to draw lessons from the studied institutions' experience that will be helpful in their own efforts to become high performers. Even the best-performing organizations may fall short in some areas or make mistakes—emphasizing the need for systematic approaches to improve quality and prevent harm to patients and staff. The Commonwealth Fund is not an accreditor of health care organizations or systems, and the inclusion of an institution in the Fund's case study series is not an endorsement by the Fund for receipt of health care from the institution.