Testing new payment models: One pilot program ’s success

< p > As physicians await the final rule on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), specialty societies across the country are getting a head start in testing out possibilities for alternative payment models (APM) to shift the health care system toward value-based care and payment. One practice at the University of Colorado recently showed that a new model could reduce frequent emergency department (ED) visits by roughly 40 percent. < /p > < p > < strong > How the pilot program reduced ED visits < /strong > < /p > < p > In 2012, the Metro Community Provider Network (MCPN) in Colorado was selected as a site partner to test the replicability of a pilot program funded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to decrease overuse of emergency and inpatient services by patients who frequently visit the ED. < /p > < p > Jennifer Wiler, MD, an emergency medicine physician and associate professor and vice-chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado, helped create and facilitate the program at MCPN, which they called Bridges to Care. The program is a multidisciplinary team of health coaches, community health workers, care coordinators, behavior health specialists and a primary care physician, she said. < /p > < p > The goal was to “provide services to enrolled patients for two months to educate and empower them to become independent and make better choices about health care navigation and utilization,” Dr. W...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news