Health Care Reform A Promising Work In Progress
Amedisys, Inc.Jacqueline Chen, 225-299-3688Marketing & Communications
Health care reform is hardly perfect, but that’s okay. So conclude two leading authorities on health care delivered at home, Dr. Michael Fleming and Julie Lewis, respectively chief medical officer and vice president of research and development at Amedisys Home Health and Hospice Care.
The statement about health care reform, posted at Amedisys.com () came on the heels of two different but related news announcements about health care reform. An article published in warned that The Bundled Payment for Care program, though promoting efficiency, may also lead to skimping on care. In addition, the CMS Pioneer ACO program disclosed the loss of nine of its participants.
Yet the bundled approach represents a major step forward, Fleming and Lewis contend. At the very least it unites providers in the signature cause of delivering higher quality care at lower cost (Amedisys is a participant in the initiative).
Likewise, the CMS Pioneer ACO program is producing positive results, they point out. Of the 32 pioneer ACOs, 25 generated lower-than-average readmission rates for Medicare beneficiaries – again, the result of providers sharing a goal and joining forces for a common good.
“Change is imperative,” Fleming and Lewis declare. For the moment, then, imperfect is acceptable. Any ambitious innovation takes time to work out the kinks.
America will move forward, they say, only if we test new models. “We want to uncover the formula for delivering the best care outcomes for a cost that is sustainable for our country.”
Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is a leading health care at home company delivering personalized and care to approximately 380,000 patients each year. Amedisys is focused on delivering the care that is best for our patients, whether that is home-based recovery and rehabilitation after an operation or injury, care focused on empowering them to manage a chronic disease, palliative care for those with a terminal illness, or hospice care at the end of life. Amedisys is a recognized innovator, being one of the first in the industry to equip its clinicians with point-of-care laptop technology and referring physicians with an internet portal that enables real-time coordination of patient care seamlessly. Amedisys also has the industry's first-ever nationwide Care Transitions program, designed to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions through patient and caregiver health coaching and care coordination, which starts in the hospital and continues throughout completion of the patient's home health plan of care. For more information about the company, please visit: .