December 14, 2009

Improving Access to Health Care in California: Testing New Roles for Providers

Many Californians, along with Americans in most other parts of the nation, do not have access to a regular source of health care. While much of the current policy debate focuses on improving or expanding insurance coverage, addressing the ability to pay for health care only removes one roadblock. Attention must also be paid to the health care workforce, such as ensuring adequate supplies of doctors, nurses, and other health workers. Recent years have seen a small but growing number of efforts to examine this aspect of the problem. Some are part of a big picture approach to rethink strategies, systems, and the practice models in which professionals deliver care. Others are happening at the point of care itself via new ways to connect providers and patients. In addition to workforce innovation initiatives taking place in California and elsewhere, this issue brief provides a detailed look at the California Health Workforce Pilot Project (HWPP). Administered by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, the project offers the opportunity to safely assess new approaches to the delivery of care, including programs that allow health care workers to acquire new skills, seek to develop new health care job categories or speed training in existing categories, and teach new roles to people with no health care training. Finally, the authors propose possible avenues to further California's exploration of workforce innovation by drawing on HWPP's experience.