Population Health

Population health is an interdisciplinary, customizable approach that allows different health care entities to connect. This approach utilizes non-traditional partnerships among different sectors of the community – public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, etc. – to achieve positive health outcomes. Independent Care Health Plan (iCare) applies population health methods in a variety of focus areas, including:

Flu Vaccinations

Yearly flu vaccination, prevents illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. People with chronic conditions are at higher risk for poor health outcomes from influenza. Flu vaccination helps protect against these negative outcomes. Flu vaccinations are covered under the plan at the provider office or pharmacy. Every year, we provide our members flu education, how to access the flu vaccination and offer our members, living in the Milwaukee area, an opportunity to come to our fall health fair to receive their vaccination. Additionally, we provide our primary care providers a “gap in care” report so they can see their population of members who have not yet been vaccinated.

Mom/Baby Program

Maternal health is crucial for the well-being of the member and their new baby. Every pregnant member is assessed for medical, social, and educational concerns by our Mom/Baby Team as early in pregnancy as possible. If needs are identified, members are offered to enroll into our Mom/Baby Program where they will receive case management services to address those needs. Case Management extends through the post-partum period. If the member agrees to the program, the team will outreach to their established providers to coordinate care or make referrals where needed.

Behavioral Health

Quality and timely follow up with a mental health provider after hospitalization supports the member’s success in managing their mental illness and lowers the risk of a readmission. Each member who has a hospital admission with a primary diagnosis of a mental illness or intentional self-harm will receive a follow up call from our trained behavioral health staff. The member will be offered supportive case management services and assisted with obtaining the appropriate follow up care. If the member agrees to the program, the team will outreach to their established providers to coordinate care as needed. If the member has no established providers, the team will assist in the appropriate referrals. 

Complex Chronic Conditions 

Members with co-occurring behavioral health and medical conditions are at increased risk for poor health outcomes and premature death. Proper management and good quality of life requires they manage a complex set of symptoms, self-management techniques, provider networks and medications.  The complexity can be overwhelming. We offer case management services to those members with the highest needs and would like the support. Our interdisciplinary case management team made up of social workers, nurses and community health works work collaboratively with the member to assess their needs, establish their priorities, set goals and work to overcome barriers. The team outreaches to the member’s providers and formal supports to ensure a unified plan of care.  

iCare participates in WISHIN, Wisconsin’s statewide Health Information Exchange (HIE). When a member is in care management, iCare will work with the member to create a care plan that includes the member’s goals and health priorities. iCare securely sends those care plans along with the iCare care management team names and phone numbers to WISHIN and are visible to participating health systems and providers. We welcome providers to reach out to us to discuss the care plan or to coordinate care. The intent is to provide a more coordinated and supportive web of support for our members