Newswise — The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) announced today that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has selected the association and several partners for a demonstration project aimed at testing approaches for transforming how doctors and medical facilities provide care for Medicare patients with chronic disorders, in order to significantly improve the quality of care. The ACCENT Project— Advancing Chronic Care through E*Health Networks and Technologies—will demonstrate how doctors can use home health monitoring technology to help Medicare patients with severe chronic illness live healthier, happier, longer lives—and reduce Medicare spending by preventing hospitalizations. AMGA's partners in the venture are Health Hero Network, Bend Memorial Clinic in Bend, Oregon, and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center in Wenatchee, Washington. The medical groups will implement a physician-led, technology-supported care management program for up to 2,000 Medicare beneficiaries with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or diabetes.
The, innovative physician-led, technology-supported ACCENT Project is one of six projects selected by CMS under the Care Management for High-Cost Beneficiaries Demonstration. The CMS initiative will test approaches for transforming how doctors and hospitals provide care for high-cost Medicare patients with severe, complex chronic conditions. The goal is to improve the quality of life for these patients while significantly reducing costs. The ACCENT Project is notable because it will be conducted across multiple sites and because of its robust use of health information technology.
"The ACCENT Project will demonstrate that doctors and patients with severe chronic illness, supported by information technology, can establish a new partnership to provide exceptional preventive care for patients in their homes, and keep them healthier and living independently longer while reducing costs," said AMGA President Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D. "CMS is rightfully coming to focus on creative new approaches to managing high-risk patients with chronic conditions. They are suffering under the current, crisis-driven approach to care, and they account for most health care spending. We look forward to partnering with CMS to show how medical groups supported by health information technology will produce great results for Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers."
The ACCENT Project's key technology component is the Health Buddy system from Health Hero Network. Doctors and nurses at Bend Memorial Clinic and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center will use the Health Buddy appliance to coach patients at home about preventive behaviors that will keep them healthy. The doctors and nurses will use data generated by the Health Buddy appliance to spot problems and intervene early, before patients get so sick that they need to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized.
The ACCENT Project is slated to begin on January 1, 2006, and will last three years. CMS will assign to the ACCENT Project a patient population of approximately 2,000 patients who are already under the care of physicians at Bend Memorial Clinic and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center. Project coordinators will then actively recruit, enroll, and manage CMS-assigned patients with the active cooperation of medical group physicians.
Beneficiary participation in the demonstration project programs will be voluntary and will not change the amount, duration, or scope of participants' fee-for-service Medicare benefits. Fee-for-service Medicare benefits will continue to be covered, administered, and paid under the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program. Programs will be offered at no additional cost beyond patients' traditional fee-for-service Medicare benefits. Organizations chosen for the demonstration will not restrict beneficiary access to care or restrict beneficiaries to a limited number of physicians in a network.
About Health Hero Network Health Hero Network develops and markets the Health Buddy® system for health improvement. The Health Buddy system serves as the interface between patients at home and their care providers, facilitating patient education and monitoring of chronic conditions. The system includes monitoring technologies, clinical information databases, Internet-enabled decision support tools, health management programs and content development tools. Through increased communication, behavior modification, and prevention, the Health Buddy system improves the quality of care. Based in Mountain View, California, Health Hero Network's systems are protected by over 55 issued US patents. For more information, visit www.healthhero.com. About Bend Memorial Clinic Offering primary and specialty care since 1946, Bend Memorial Clinic includes 70 physicians representing 13 branches of medicine. It is the largest multispecialty group east of the Cascades and functions as a comprehensive referral center for physicians and communities throughout the state. At Bend Memorial Clinic, your health is our passion.
About Wenatchee Valley Medical Center Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, established in 1940, is a multispecialty group with offices in seven communities in North Central Washington, serving an area of approximately 12,000 square miles. The medical center was founded on a commitment to serve patient needs by providing the highest quality healthcare and services in an atmosphere of concern and caring, with an organizational commitment of assisting in the development of one of the nation's best rural healthcare delivery systems. Today, approximately 210 physicians and midlevel providers represent over 30 specialties and subspecialties and provide comprehensive medical and ancillary services to patients.
About the American Medical Group Association The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents medical groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the multispecialty medical group model of healthcare delivery and for the patients served by medical groups through innovation and information sharing, benchmarking, leadership development, and continuous striving to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver health care to more than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 million capitated lives. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. For more information, visit http://www.amga.org.
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