| CalPERS Pilot Program Aiming For Cost-Effective, Quality Care
Disease management, pharmacy, improved communication,
and palliative care are all set to play a role in a new pilot program
aimed at reducing costs and improving healthcare quality from the
California Public Employee's Retirement System (CalPERS).
The program, slated to begin in 2010, is led by Blue
Shield of California, Hill Physicians MedicalGroup, and Catholic
Healthcare West. The three organizations will be partnering to share
information and coordinate care more directly. The pilot's objective is
to build a delivery model that takes cost out of the local delivery
system.
"In the short-term, we're aiming to reduce our cost and
improve delivery of healthcare in the Sacramento region. If successful,
we hope to positively impact health outcomes and costs for more of our
members over the long-term," said Rob Feckner, CalPERS board president.
"We created this pilot because it's critical for
healthcare entities to challenge assumptions and to examine smarter
ways of providing and paying for care," said Juan Davila, Senior Vice
President of Network Management For Blue Shield of California.
Steve McDermott, Hills Physicians Medical Group CEO,
believes the initiative will "foster a more integrated way of
sustaining high levels of clinical quality" and make "more efficient
use of our resources to achieve measurable savings."
Innovative contract requirements for a pharmacy benefit
manager (PBM) are also being enacted as part of CalPERS cost-effective
and evidence-based strategies to improve healthcare outcomes.
This aspect of the plan will be focused on supporting
and developing healthcare information technology such as e-prescribing,
and tracking and improving pharmacy compliance in members with chronic
disease.
"This is a great opportunity to leverage the highest
level of expertise in the field, provide best-in-class pharmaceutical
management and services at the best price, and coordinate clinical
programs with other health improvement initiatives," said Feckner.
CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund and provides health benefits to nearly 1.3 million members.
Address: California Public Employee's Retirement System,
Lincoln Plaza North, 400 Q Street, Sacramento, CA 9581; 1-888-225-7377,
www.calpers.ca.gov.
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