HHS issues blueprint to improve care for children with special health care needs 

The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday issued a national open framework to improve care for children and youth with special health care needs, which encompasses nearly one in five children in the U.S. The Blueprint for Change: A National Framework for a System of Services for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs is a special supplement to the Pediatrics journal. Among the recommendations and guiding principles are ensuring all services and supports for children and youth with special health care needs are designed and implemented to reduce health disparities and improve health outcomes; easy for families and professionals to navigate; and financed and paid for in ways that best support patients’ and their families’ needs. The framework also urges removal of administrative and other processes that hinder access to services.