Dr. Katrina Roberson-Trammell, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and a pediatrician with USA Physicians Group, was recently named medical director of the Gulf Coast Patient Care Network (GCPCN).
The network provides a system of care coordination, including care management and pharmacy services, to serve Medicaid patients in our area with chronic disease and/or mental illness. With this network, members of the health care team work together to provide a high level of coordinated care that accomplishes the simultaneous goals of higher quality, greater patient access and lower costs.
As medical director of GCPCN, Dr. Roberson-Trammell will work to enhance primary medical providers’ communication, improve patient adherence and accountability via care coordination services, and identify and alleviate any potential barriers or obstacles.
According to Becky Tate, chief executive officer of the USA Health Services Foundation and president of the board of directors for GCPCN, Dr. Roberson-Trammell’s 17 years of practice in Mobile gives her a keen understanding of the unique health care needs in our community.
As medical director, Dr. Roberson-Trammell will help facilitate patient care by utilizing care managers, pharmacists and behavioral and transitional nurses. “Our provider network will extend into the home environments and identify and address barriers to patient compliance,” she said. “As the health care industry changes, we will embrace a more holistic approach - treating not just the medical issues, but also identifying methods of addressing emotional and social distress as part of comprehensive patient care.”
She said her ultimate goal is to improve patient health by educating and encouraging patients in becoming more proactive in their own care by knowing their numbers – including BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar – all of which are risk factors for heart disease and other chronic conditions. “If we can get our patients to monitor these four numbers, their quality of life would be so much better,” Dr. Roberson-Trammell said.
"I sincerely feel we need to be creative and move health care delivery out of our traditional model of educating our patients and go into different environments such as their homes, churches, communities, and schools in order to make a more positive impact,” she added.
Dr. Roberson-Trammell earned a bachelor of arts in biology at Talladega College in Talladega, Ala., and her medical degree from USA. She also completed her internship and residency in pediatrics at USA. She serves as a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Mobile Medical Society, American Medical Association, Mobile Pediatric Society, and the Mobile Bay Area Medical Association. In addition, she is involved in other community activities such as serving on the Board of Directors for the Gulf Regional Early Childhood Services (GRCMA) and the Blessed Beginnings Development Center.
GCPCN is based on an existing patient-centered medical home initiative within the Alabama Medicaid program known as Patient 1st, which gives Medicaid beneficiaries access to medical homes. Patients either choose a primary care practice to be their medical home or Medicaid officials assign them to one. GCPCN is partnering with all Patient 1st providers in Mobile and Washington Counties, including the USA Health System, the Bayou La Batre Health Development Board, Franklin Primary Health Center, the Family Oriented Primary Health Care, and private practice physicians.
The University of South Alabama Medical Alumni Association is hosting its first "Distinguished Alumnus Guest Speaker" event on Jan. 29, 2014, in the first floor auditorium of the Medical Sciences Building.
