Delivery System Innovation and Improvement

Several of The Commonwealth Fund's research programs are focused on systemic improvements to the delivery of health care in the United States. Together, these programs are advancing the broad adoption of promising approaches for getting patients the best-quality care possible and assuring payers that they are receiving good value for their health care dollars.

Commonwealth Fund programs focusing on Delivery System Innovation and Improvement include: 

Health System Quality and Efficiency 
Patient-Centered Coordinated Care 
Picker/Commonwealth Fund Long-Term Care Quality Improvement

Of special interest to the Fund are delivery system models capable of providing population-based, patient-centered, accountable care that is well integrated across the full continuum of services—preventive, health-promoting, acute, chronic, and long-term—and the payment reforms that make such models feasible. Projects supported by these programs are intended to inform health care leaders and policymakers at the local, state, and national levels about promising ways of using new and existing resources to overcome barriers and stimulate delivery system improvements.

The Fund's work within Delivery System Innovation and Improvement is closely coordinated with Fund initiatives in Health Reform Policy, International Health Policy and Innovation, and Health System Performance Assessment and Tracking.

Health System Quality and Efficiency

The Program on Health System Quality and Efficiency aims to improve the quality and efficiency of health care in the United States, with special emphasis on fostering greater coordination and accountability among all entities involved in the delivery of health care.

Picker/Commonwealth Fund Long-Term Care Quality Improvement

The Picker/Commonwealth Fund Program on Long-Term Care Quality Improvement, part of the foundation’s efforts to improve the health care delivery system and spur innovation, aims to raise the quality of postacute and long-term care services and supports, and improve care transitions for patients by integrating these services with the other care that they receive.

Patient-Centered Coordinated Care Program

In support of The Commonwealth Fund’s efforts to promote delivery system improvement and innovation, the Program on Patient-Centered Coordinated Care sponsors activities aimed at improving the quality of primary health care in the United States, including efforts to make care more centered around the needs and preferences of patients and their families.

Vulnerable Populations

The Program on Vulnerable Populations is designed to ensure that low-income, uninsured, and otherwise disadvantaged minority populations are able to obtain care from high-performing health systems capable of meeting their special needs.