The RWJ Partners New Jersey Project ECHO

Robert Wood Johnson Partners (RWJ Partners) is a patient-centered, physician-led, clinically integrated network created through a unique partnership between Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; and Robert Wood Johnson Health System. RWJ Partners currently includes more than 700 physicians throughout Central and Northern New Jersey.

This project supports start-up activities and continuing operations associated with launching a New Jersey Project ECHO Academic Medical Hub. Project ECHO uses telecommunications technology and case-based learning to foster mentoring partnerships between specialists (the “hub”) and primary care providers (the “spokes”). Project ECHO is an evidence-based program founded in New Mexico by Dr. Sanjeev Arora to enhance primary care providers’ skills, knowledge, and capacity to provide quality care for their patients with complex chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV.

In this project, RWJ Partners, in collaboration with the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and the Robert Wood Johnson Health System, is implementing the Project ECHO model in New Jersey, with faculty from Rutgers University and the Rutgers RWJ Medical School serving as the “hub” specialists. RWJ Partners is launching three Project ECHO clinics during the project period and evaluating provider changes in self-efficacy and ability to improve patient access to care. RWJ Partners also is exploring the feasibility of identifying a sustainable funding stream for this application of Project ECHO by engaging stakeholders in evaluating the potential healthcare cost savings.

Learn more about: RWJ Partners, LLC  

Learn more: Project ECHO website

Harvard University Case Study on Project ECHO

Video on the 2019 Learning Collaborative 

Media Coverage:

Press Release

NJ Biz

MyCentralJersey.com

Courier-Post

The Press of Atlantic City