IOCP: Intensive Outpatient Care Program

Because the health care system is fragmented, care for patients with one or more chronic conditions is uncoordinated and services are often duplicated. In turn, this results in poor outcomes and avoidable emergency department visits and hospital stays.

Fortunately, IOCP has a solution: It embeds care coordinators in physician practices where coordinators teach medically complex patients how to manage their conditions and also ensure seamless transitions among multiple providers and services. Equally important, care coordinators address behavioral and psychosocial needs and make referrals to community resources.

IOCP was innovated by PBGH members Boeing, CalPERS and PG&E. Based on the concept developed by these pioneering companies, PBGH applied for and was one of 100 programs selected (among thousands) for a three-year Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) grant to test large-scale implementation of this program and to provide proof of success through a rigorous evaluation.

Now operating within 23 physician groups across five States (CA, AZ, WA, NV, ID), IOCP promises to improve the health of thousands of Medicare and patients and build infrastructure that can be used for commercial patients as well. Data from IOCP in commercial populations show a reduction in costs among the medically complex by up to 20%.

IOCP Program Summary (pdf 441 KB)

*The project described was supported by Grant Number 1C1CMS331047 from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or any of its agencies.*