Camino de Salud Network

Program Overview: Background

The Health Systems Integration Division, in partnership with the LAC+USC Healthcare Network, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and a number of community clinics in Los Angeles,to design and implement an innovative community care management system called the Camino de Salud Network (Healthy Road). This project began in February of 2004, with a pilot completed in 2005 and full implementation phased in from late 2005 to early 2006. The Camino de Salud Network provides innovation in linking primary and specialty care to patients in their local neighborhoods.  Patients with risk factors such as a lack of health insurance and/or have a chronic illness are assigned to both a clinic near their home and to a specially trained care manager who helps the patient to navigate the healthcare system and assures that referrals for care and social services are successfully obtained.  All patients are managed through a web-based software system, COPE Health Solutions/World Doc, which COPE Health Solutions developed for LAC+USC and which serves as both a care management system for use by the providers and as a "cyberfile" health record for access by the patients. By educating providers and consumers on how to appropriately access and utilize the healthcare system, improved health can be achieved for patients while avoiding unnecessary costs due to over-utilization of the emergency department and inpatient areas.