Pediatric Practice Enhancement Project:
The Pediatric Practice Enhancement Project (PPEP) is a medical home initiative designed in 2003 within the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), Office of Special Needs (OSN) in collaboration with Rhode Island Medicaid, the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Family Voices. The initiative provides supports to improve and coordinate care for CYSHCN and their families.
Administered by RIDOH's OSN, PPEP is a partnership between the RIDOH, Rhode Island Medicaid, Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Rhode Island Parent Information Network/Family Voices, and the Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. The initiative has some flexibility to allow each practice site participating in PPEP to tailor the program to fit their particular needs and policies.
The model includes two key components:
- A Family/Peer Resource Specialist Program (see below for additional information).
- A data component to provide administrators and practices with information regarding patient/families served, needs addressed, and resource provided.
Most importantly, the PPEP database serves to identify system-wide barriers facing families trying to access appropriate services for their child/youth. A project steering committee consisting of state agency and community stakeholder representatives (Family Voices Leadership Team) meets monthly to address barriers identified through the PPEP database.
Family/Peer Resource Specialist Program:
The Family/Peer Resource Specialist Program component of PPEP is facilitated through a contract with the Rhode Island Parent Information Network (RIPIN), an organization of advocates and parent professionals. This model brings the perspective of parents, youth, and consumers into policy development and medical home implementation with the primary role to create linkages between family pediatric practices and the community as a whole. Under the contract with RIDOH, Resource Specialists are hired, supervised and provided with ongoing training and professional development.
The program implements the following activities:
- Strengthens the RIDOH capacity to deliver effective services
- Addresses critical health issues
- Involves the community in discussions that lead to effective program planning for the state's special needs and culturally diverse populations
- Assists families, caregivers and physicians in accessing community resources such as specialty care, independent living, education, employment and vocational training
- Identifies barriers to coordinated care