The 2024-2025 series focused on the Quintuple Aim¹, a framework that guides health systems to deliver care that is not only effective and efficient, but also compassionate and inclusive.

Throughout the series, presenters shared real-world examples of how UPMC and its collaborators are putting the Quintuple Aim into practice. Topics included integrating oral health into whole-person care, delivering in-home services to older adults, co-designing diabetes care with communities, and testing new models of care management for complex populations.

Each session offered practical insights and innovative ideas for how health systems can evolve to meet the needs of today’s members/patients, families, communities, and health system care teams.

The series kicked off on September 23, 2024, with Jessica Rhodes, Director of Clinical Programs for UPMC for You, spotlighting UPMC Health Plan’s Dental Care Management Program. In Expanding Family Access to Whole-Person Care Through a Care Management Model, Rhodes described a Medicaid initiative that integrates oral health into whole-person care. The program supports children and families by connecting them to dental homes, offering education, and addressing health-related social needs. This programming:

• Focuses on early intervention, encouraging dental visits by age 1
• Brings care access to “dental deserts” through mobile clinics and community collaborations
• Integrates oral health promotion into maternity and pediatric care pathways
• Leverages community events to connect families with dental and social services
• Demonstrates how oral health can be a gateway to broader healthcare engagement.

“We’re not just improving dental care, we’re building trust, reducing disparities, and creating healthier families,” said Rhodes.

On November 18, 2024, Drs. Kalpana Char and Jennifer Vennare presented Improving Access to In-Home Whole-Person Care for Older Adults in which they described the UPMC Your Care Program, a comprehensive in-home care management model for high-risk Medicare and Special Needs Plan (SNP) members in Allegheny County. UPMC Your Care:

• Is designed for members with multiple chronic conditions, frailty, and high utilization
• Delivers integrated physical, behavioral, and social care in the home
• Has led to reduced hospitalizations and emergency visits through proactive, longitudinal care
• Supports provider well-being by integrating care responsibilities across a multidisciplinary team
• Embeds equal access for all members/patients by addressing barriers such as lack of transportation and housing and food insecurity.

“This is about meeting people where they are, both literally and figuratively,” said Vennare. “We’re building a bridge between care coordination and service delivery.”

On April 10, 2025,  Drs. Tracey Conti, Maria Guyette, and Christopher Standaert presented a community-based initiative to improve diabetes care in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. In the webinar Pursuit of a Common Currency, Managing Type 2 Diabetes in McKeesport, PA they described a “transformation braid” framework for approaching care management that includes culture, strategy, and measurement. They demonstrated how their team aligned patients, providers, and payers around shared goals to:

• Emphasize trust, lived experience, and community engagement
• Introduce new measurement tools such as the Person-Centered Primary Care Measure and the Feeling Heard and Understood Questionnaire
• Facilitate experience groups that revealed disconnects between what patients value and what providers measure
• Develop a care management model that aligns with patient-prioritized outcomes like comfort, capability, and calm over clinical metrics.

“We can’t transform care without first listening to the people we serve,” said Dr. Conti.

On June 2, 2025, Myra Herbert, Sarah Markwardt, Kelly Williams, Dr. Jatin Dave, and Michael Reilly presented their learnings from Integrated Care Management for Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions, a real-world Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI®)²-funded study comparing three care management models for Medicaid and dual-eligible members with complex needs. In this study, participants were enrolled in one of three care model groups: High-touch, in-person care management; High-tech, virtual care with remote monitoring; or Optimal Discharge Planning with short-term telephonic support.

Outcomes and learnings discussed included:

• All care models improved outcomes, but the High Touch model led to greater patient activation
• The High-tech model facilitated scalability and real-time data collection
• The hybrid model combining both High-touch and High-tech approaches was preferred by patients and care managers
• The study demonstrated that multimodal care can be both effective and equitable.

“It’s not about choosing one model, it’s about meeting patients where they are,” said Williams.

A few themes emerged across the 2024-2025 Innovations in Health Care webinar series:

• Embedding facilitators for and addressing barriers to equal access to care for all members/patients is foundational to successful care models and interventions.
• Technology is a tool, not a solution. High-tech interventions worked best when paired with human connection.
• Members/patients are the experts of their own experience. Listening to understand and measuring what matters to them is essential.
• Scalability requires flexibility. Multimodal and community-based models offer sustainable paths forward.

As health systems continue to navigate complex challenges and changing expectations, the insights shared throughout this series serve as a powerful reminder that innovation is not just about new tools or technologies. It is about reimagining relationships, re-centering care around people, and building systems that are responsive, resilient, and rooted in the guiding value that everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. The work presented in the 2024–2025 Innovations in Health Care webinar series reflects UPMC’s ongoing commitment to leading with purpose and collaborating with communities and colleagues across the UPMC learning community to create a future where every person we serve has the opportunity to live a healthier life.

1 Nundy S, Cooper LA, Mate KS. The Quintuple Aim for Health Care Improvement: A New Imperative to Advance Health Equity. JAMA. 2022;327(6):521–522. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.25181

2 This project was funded through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute^® (PCORI®) Award IHS-1609-36670. The views, statements, and opinions presented in this webpage are solely the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of PCORI®.