insurance and patient fees. Uninsured patients are charged on a sliding fee scale based on family size and income. Health centers measure the quality of care for patients and report regularly to their Boards of Directors and funders. Utah’s Community Health Centers Utah Health Centers are perfect places for family physicians to thrive as they support families and communities. Not only focused on what happens in the four walls of a clinic, Utah health centers address social drivers through care coordination, health education, assistance accessing insurance coverage and healthy lifestyle coaching. Many clinics have community health workers as part of their teams. Preventing illnesses and managing chronic disease creates value by providing care in the least costly setting and keeping people out of emergency rooms and hospitals. Utah health centers, by design, deliver integrated care where primary care and behavioral health clinicians work together with patients and families. Most Utah health centers participate in centralized data reporting through a common population health platform, allowing them to benchmark with other centers to improve care, participate in value contracts, and manage high-risk cohorts. The platform has also allowed advances in enabling health information technology research projects with partners like Huntsman Cancer Institute Center for Hope to automate referrals for tobacco users to Utah’s Tobacco Quit Line and recall patients for preventive screening exams. Utah Health Center providers are almost always eligible for loan repayment programs through the National Health Service Corps, Utah’s Healthcare Workforce Loan Repayment Program or both. The Association for Utah Community Health (AUCH) and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services have information about these programs for people interested in a career at a Health Center. “Community Health Centers provide a network for thousands of Utahns — many of whom have come to depend on us for our culturally sensitive staff, high-quality care, and ability to remove barriers to Utah’s renowned health care.” Kurt Rifleman, MD, Medical Director, Midtown Community Health Center Scan the QR code to learn more about Utah’s community health centers. https://www.auch.org/ community-health-centers | 28
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