Dive Brief:
- For years, harm reduction centers have struggled to survive as solo healthcare entitites with funding from state and federal governments and private donations.
- Those centers are now offering their services to hospitals and insurers.
- The centers believe that their vast array of experience in dealing with high-risk and marginilized patients puts them in a unique position to help coordinate care for these patients.
Dive Insight:
One such model is New York City’s BOOM!Health, which was created in 2013 when the Bronx AIDS Services and CitiWide Harm Reduction merged. The result was a new healthcare delivery model that includes harm reduction services, primary care and preventive and behavioral health services. The clinic also helps patients manage their medications with input from an on-site pharmacy, helps homeless people find affordable housing, and provides a variety of other services, such as food and nutrition counseling and legal aid.
The New York Academy of Medicine says that BOOM!'s integrated approach can serve as a model for other US clinics. According to Kaiser Health News, the momentum for these types of partnerships is being fueled by provider interest in forming accountable care organizations and by movement toward value-based, rather than fee-for-service payment systems.