The
Gold Choice physician case management program (PCMP) was established
in 1996 by the SUNYAB Department of Family Medicine in collaboration
with the Erie County Departments of Social Services and Mental
Health as a model program to integrate the healthcare needs
of Medicaid recipients with Behavioral Healthcare concerns.
Gold Choice also receives annual funding from the Office of
Mental Health and Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services.
One key feature of the Gold Choice program is that all enrollees
must currently be in treatment with an assigned counselor
within a behavioral health agency. The average enrollment
is approximately 4975 Erie County Medicaid recipients per
month. Gold Choice has a Primary Care Provider network of
over 60 sites throughout Erie County that includes Kaleida
Health, Lifetime Health, UB Family Medicine, and the Catholic
Health System.
The mission of the Gold Choice is to work in partnership with
the participating primary care providers and the associated
behavioral health agencies to continually improve the quality
of care and service delivered to Gold Choice members. The
goal of the program is to encourage the delivery of optimal
services at the appropriate time and in the most effective
manner.
Strategic Objectives:
- To
facilitate patient empowerment by actively encouraging
their self-management.
- To
support the continued development of proactive provider
practices.
- To
improve evidence-based interventions and performance measures
over time.
- To
expand collaboration and coordination with all community
resources to meet the complex needs of the mentally ill/substance
abuse enrollees.
Telephonic
Case Management and Chronic Disease Management
The purpose of the Gold Choice Case Management Program is
to coordinate and integrate access to primary and specialty
care for the member and to link recipients with other needed
medical and other support services available in the community.
In addition to service coordination and linkage, the case
management staff also provides health education that teaches
individuals about the value of proper medical follow-up, immunizations,
HIV related information, sexually transmitted diseases, as
well as preventative health measures such as good nutrition
and exercise. All such services are coordinated with
primary providers, specialty providers and special care agencies.
