Dear Healthcare Intelligence Network Client,

Welcome to our fourth annual "best of" issue. Without question, the Supreme Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the ACA was the biggest healthcare story of the year. The effect of the November presidential elections only solidified the impact of the mandate and healthcare reform, and cleared the way for its continued rollout and implementation. There will be much to report on in the coming year, and we will be sure to bring you complete coverage.

But in this issue, as in “Best of “ issues past, we bring you the stories that resonated most with you. Your top story was one that ran nearly a year ago: Five Percent of Americans Account for More Than Half of all Healthcare Costs. According to this story from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the 15 most expensive health conditions — the top five being heart disease, cancer, trauma, mental disorders, and pulmonary conditions — account for nearly half of total healthcare expenses, and patients with multiple chronic conditions cost up to seven times as much as patients with only one chronic condition.

Nearly a year later, mental conditions are being suggested as one impetus for the worst mass killing in this country, when 6 adults and 20 children under the age of 11 were gunned down in a Connecticut elementary school. If any good can possibly come out of such a sad story, it could be that more funds are provided for this very costly, very misunderstood, segment of healthcare.

Geisinger’s Remote Monitoring Program Reduces 30-Day Readmissions also sparked your interest. The health plan, using interactive voice response (IVR) and other innovative telemonitoring technology and solutions provided by AMC Health, reported a 44 percent reduction in 30-day readmissions compared to a control group, and increased case manager efficiency in monitoring patients transitioning from hospital to home. The tool is a post-hospital discharge telemonitoring solution that was introduced as an adjunct to existing case management in a managed care population, and designed to reduce hospital readmissions.

In December, AMC announced it received FDA approval to provide an array of telemonitoring technologies for a new clinical drug trial that studies the effects of the widely used blood pressure drug lisinopril in patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis. This will enable researchers to collect data on blood pressure and heart rate, mobility, physical and mental function, symptoms, side effects, quality of life and medication adherence, directly from patients in their homes, eliminating the need for frequent visits to a study site.

You were also interested in Consumer Reports' first patient experience ratings report aimed at selected primary care physician groups in the Massachusetts area. It was the first time the magazine has published such a report, which covered nearly 500 practices, including 329 adult practices and 158 pediatric practices; and posed such questions as how well physicians communicate with their patients, coordinate medical care, know their patients, and whether patients would be willing to recommend their doctor to family and friends. Consumer Reports hopes to partner with and expand the survey to other states, and has since published its first ever hospital ratings report, which includes information from government and independent sources on 1,159 hospitals in 44 states.

You also found HEDIS’ release of 35 new technical specifications for ACOs for 2013 to be a favorite story; it offered detailed guidance that will help ACOs collect and report their quality performance in standardized ways, according to the NCQA, which published the measures. HEDIS has since updated level 3 status guidelines and added a new ACO workbook.

We hope you will find our upcoming Health Coaching report a comparable read; our survey is closing on January 4th, so if you have the time take a moment to participate in this survey on this critical tool in population health management, which is proving to boost self-management of disease and reduce risk and associated cost across the health continuum. All participants receive a free executive summary of the compiled results.

And as with issues past, we send our best wishes to all of you for a happy, healthy, prosperous, peaceful new year.

Your colleague in the business of healthcare,
Cheryl Miller
Editor, Healthcare Business Weekly Update

Please send comments, questions and replies to cmiller@hin.com.

December 31, 2012
Vol. XIV, No. 47

Sponsored by:
Physician Hospital Organizations — Developing a Collaborative Structure for Shared Savings Agreements

This week's industry news:

1. 5 Percent Of Americans Account For More Than Half Of Healthcare Costs
   
2. Comorbidity Care Models
   
3. Geisinger Remote Monitoring Program Reduces 30-Day Readmissions
   
4. 2011 Performance Benchmarks in Telehealth & Telemedicine
   
5. Healthcare Business White Paper: Accountable Care Organizations in 2012
   
6. Consumer Reports Publishes First Patient Experience Ratings of Primary Care Practices
   
7. New Chart: What's a Case Manager's Average Monthly Caseload?
   
8. 2011 Benchmarks in Patient Satisfaction Strategies
   
9. HEDIS Releases 35 New Measures for ACOs
   
10. Population Health Management Tools for ACOs
    
11. 5 Core Elements of Horizon’s Patient-Centered Medical Home
    
12. New Models in the Patient-Centered Medical Home
    
13. Infographic: Trends, Impact of U.S. Healthcare Spending
    
14. Population Health Management