IMPROVING CLINICAL AND QUALITY OUTCOMES FOR PRENATAL CARE – A CLINICAL LABORATORY DRIVEN INITIATIVE*
Abstract
New Mexico ranks 48th in the delivery of adequate prenatal care before the 3rd trimester and 30th in preterm births. TriCore Reference Laboratories collaborated with a large managed care organization (MCO) to develop and implement a statewide prospective program in pregnant women covered by Medicaid. Over an 11-month pilot period, the lab delivered actionable information to MCO care coordinators for over 1,300 pregnancies. Derived from longitudinal laboratory results, the insights were designed to improve the timeliness of prenatal care, identify births in real-time, close prenatal and post-partum gaps in care, and improve birth outcomes. Qualitative measures included pregnancies identified in the 1st trimester, risk factors, gaps in care, preterm births, and neonatal intesive care admissions and length of stays. The targeted intervention resulted in improved performance measures of care and birth outcomes.
