PQRI veterans know that participation is good training for the transition to the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). If you're a healthcare purchaser and aren't yet up to speed on this new "old" model of care, you'll want to check out the new purchaser's guide issued last week by the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative. The handbook helps employers and others understand the medical home model and take action to advance its implementation. Get more details in the HIN blog.
Your colleague in the business of healthcare,During Emergency Department Diversion Through Behavioral Health Linkages, a 90-minute webinar on July 30th, you’ll hear from two healthcare organizations who have implemented programs to divert ED visits related to behavioral health issues to appropriate venues of care.
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Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF) has awarded a $1,328,000 medical technologies grant to the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA) to implement statewide collection of comparative data, evaluate purchasing and payment systems and develop a new episode-based payment method for medical device purchasing.
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Get a FREE copy of Managing Cancer Care: Strategies to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs. This 145-page report details management strategies and pricing methodologies that health plans have been instituting to rein in oncology costs, as well as the federal government’s role in reimbursement. Click here or visit http://www.aishealth.com/Products/freereports_HIN.html to get your report today.
The 100 Most Wired hospitals show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates and other key quality measures through the use of IT, according to the tenth annual Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study analysis. Though the analysis shows that better outcomes occur among high tech hospitals, it does not establish a direct causal relationship between technology and outcomes.
To read this story in its entirety, go to:This audio conference was organized to highlight the benefits hospitals can expect when they embrace electronic technology.
For more information, please visit:If you haven’t already done so, please forward this issue to one or two of your business associates. Thanks so much.
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In an effort to curb non-emergent ED use, hospitals and health plans nationwide are developing strategies to reduce reliance on EDs for non-emergent care. Recently, HIN conducted a non-scientific online survey and discovered how 220 organizations including hospitals, physician organizations, health plans and more respond to the issue of non-emergent ED use.
To download this complimentary white paper, please visit:New data indicates that more than one in four adult Americans without medical insurance have a mental illness or substance use disorder, or both. But many state healthcare initiatives intended to cover the uninsured are neglecting these conditions, according to a report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council).
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This report addresses how clinicians can develop and market professional services attuned to the needs of managed care systems, how to best manage the utilization review process, how to reshape an office practice or hospital-based program to become more "managed care friendly," and how to best advocate for patients and clients.
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The Commitment to Caring initiative at Haven Hospice in Gainesville, Fla. has improved census by more than 200 patients a day, according to Tim Bowen, executive director of the program. The goal of the initiative is to emphasize measuring quality and performance improvement.
To read this story in its entirety, go to:HealthCoach Huddle, a monthly e-newsletter, brings you the most up-to-date news on health coaching, from coaching strategies to interviews and quotables from the industry's leading health coaches.
Medical Home Monitor tracks the construction of medical homes around the country and their impact on healthcare access, quality, utilization and cost. As providers and payors reframe care delivery, this monthly e-newsletter will cover the pilots, practice transformations, tools and technology that will guide healthcare organizations toward clinical excellence.
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This report is a toolbox of interventions that will help you accelerate positive change in your organization. The experienced authors provide the field-tested tools you need to handle a host of performance issues.
For more information, please visit:HHS has issued a report stating its progress in implementing Project BioShield. HHS has used Project BioShield authorities to support, facilitate and expedite the research, development, acquisition and availability of medical countermeasures to respond to the adverse effects of public health emergencies involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
To read this story in its entirety, go to:This timely briefing will reduce the uncertainty over sharing patient data with public health authorities in preparing for and addressing public health emergencies.
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In this excerpt from a June 26, 2008 audio conference, Julie Bunde, director of product management at Healthpartners, talks about clarifying the communication around consumer-driven health plans:
We've talked about building a health partnership and embracing this cultural shift, and it really takes constant teaching and learning about healthcare costs and how employees can maximize the benefits that they have...
To finish reading this transcript excerpt, please visit:During Essential Keys To Success for Consumer-Directed Health Plans, industry experts described the essential elements needed for a consumer-directed health plan to successfully engage consumers in their health and control healthcare costs, as well as how these elements translate to a consumer-directed benefit strategy for health plans and employers.
For more information on this audio conference and to listen to pre-conference comments, please visit: