Monday, May 20th, 2013
Experts from more than 40 health systems recently convened in Cleveland to share population health management strategies at the Premier healthcare alliance’s national accountable care organization (ACO) summit. University Hospitals and Summa Health System co-hosted the event.
Members of Premier’s PACT™ population health collaborative attended the summit. PACT unites 79 health systems across 40 states and payors engaging in ACOs to learn from each other while measuring and benchmarking care with integrated patient data. These organizations have more than 80 ACO agreements with both the federal government and private payors.
Dr. Andrew Hertz, vice president and medical director of University Hospitals Rainbow Care Connection, discussed applying accountable care and population health principles to a pediatric population. Rainbow Care Connection is one of the first pediatric ACOs in the country, designed to improve the overall health and wellness of more than 65,000 children. The new type of multidisciplinary model aims to produce positive changes in pediatric care including greater focus on wellness and chronic disease in an outpatient setting.
Martin P. Hauser, CEO of SummaCare Inc., Summa Health’s provider-owned health insurance company, co-presented a session with Dr. Brian J. Silverstein, managing director, Geisinger Consulting Group on developing ACO arrangements with employers. SummaCare is one of the region’s only provider-owned health insurance companies, composed of more than 7,000 quality healthcare physicians and 50 hospitals. Major employers are seeking new population health arrangements which create incentives for helping their employees remain healthy.
Other topics discussed include palliative and end-of-life care focusing on greater family involvement to better meet the needs of patients.
“PACT participants are among the nation’s leaders and early adopters in redesigning care to be more valuable and patient-centric,” said Premier Performance Partners Senior Vice President Wes Champion. “By comparing performance, sharing intelligence and creating open forums for idea exchange, they’re both learning from and informing one another. This type of collaboration is key to achieving system-wide change that impacts quality, the care experience and bends the cost curve. Early results from these organizations are promising.”
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