The Frequent Users of Health Services Initiative is a five-year, $10 million joint project of The California Endowment and the California HealthCare Foundation focused on promoting a more responsive system of care that addresses patients’ needs, improves health outcomes, and decreases unnecessary use of emergency rooms and avoidable hospital stays.

“Frequent users” are often chronically ill, under- or uninsured individuals who repeatedly use emergency rooms and hospitals for medical crises that could be prevented with access to more appropriate ongoing care. These individuals often have multiple psychosocial risk factors, such as mental illness, alcohol/substance abuse disorders and homelessness. They lack the necessary social supports, which affects their ability to get continuous, coordinated care and services.

The Initiative supports innovative approaches that address frequent user patients’ multiple needs such as a combination of medical, mental health, housing, and alcohol and/or substance abuse services through multidisciplinary care, data sharing, adoption of best practices and engagement of patients in the most appropriate setting. The foundations created the Initiative to encourage such approaches, and to stimulate the development of cost-effective, comprehensive and coordinated delivery systems for health and social services.

The first implementation project was funded in Santa Cruz County in 2003, followed by five others in Alameda, Tulare, Santa Clara, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties in October 2004.

Early results from the Santa Cruz and Santa Clara implementation projects show promise. These projects provide intensive case management and link clients to appropriate medical and other services. Preliminary data from both projects show decreases in ED visits and costs. A final evaluation report on all of the implementation sites will be completed by Spring 2008.

To visit the Frequent Users of Health Services Initiative Web site, please click here.