Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to launch 'medical neighborhood'

The Centesr for Medicare & Medicaid Services are launching a patient-centered 'medical neighborhood' this month, as vendors begin to help primary care providers improve treatment and lower costs in their communities, according to an article in GovernmentHealthIT.

Vendors TransforMED, VHA Inc. and Phytel will help 15 systems and provider groups in states including Nebraska, Mississippi and Connecticut use health IT to improve their practice, save money and coordinate care better, TransforMED announced Jan. 4.

The pilot is being funded by The Innovation Center over three years at $20.75 million, as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service's Health Care Innovation Awards program. The demonstration will involve 157,000 Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

"The concept of the patient-centered medical neighborhood has enormous potential to provide a template for effective care delivery that healthcare providers nationwide can replicate in their communities," said Dr. Peggy Naas of VHA Inc. in GovernmentHealthIT.

The project aims to complete the following three goals, according to the article:

  • Decrease healthcare costs by $49.5 million within the 15 communities
  • Improve the eligible patient population health by 15 percent average in selected quality measures
  • Achieve patient experience improvement by 25 percent

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services just announced 106 new accountable care organizations, allowed for increased savings and coordinated care across the U.S.

To learn more:
- read the article