| Upcoming Meetings | |
Florida, Jan 31, 2011
Midwest Business Group on Health
MBGH Onsite Clinic Roundtable for Sponsors of Onsite Clinics
Oct. 21, 2010 - 8:30 AM (CST)
Chicago, Illinois
World Research Group
Orlando, Feb. 28 to March 2, 2011
The Employer Forum on Worksite Health
Chicago - March 2011
Dates TBA
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| Vol. 10 No. 1 | October 2010 | |
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Greetings!
Health care reform is continuing at the employer level with, or without, the Health Care Reform Legislation. There are also consumer pressures and development teams that are advancing concepts far more quickly than the medical establishment has over the past ten or twenty years.
In this issue, I may introduce some of our readers to a couple of new concepts and wonder with all of you how they might impact on-site health care and the delivery of high value health benefits to the beneficiaries of firms that truly value their workforce.
However, as I do that, the problem is that many of those who read this newsletter are already on the cutting edge and have implemented programming because it makes sense, not just because it now has an acronym or a buzzword connected with it. But, as you read the articles here, remember these terms - The Blue Button and Embedded Care Management. I predict that they will become part of the lexicon of the solution set that is already a component of the programming associated with workplace and on-site health initiatives.
As for health care reform (where we started this article, remember?), CMS and other organizations responsible for implementing and regulating health care reform recently held a conference that dealt with ACOs - accountable (health) care organizations. During the conference, Dr. Berwick (Centers for Medicaid/Medicare Chief) stressed that the requirements for an ACO include several characteristics (quality, cost efficiency, integration, etc., - readers can add their own buzzwords here). He continued by stating that any ACO which is going to be approved (or at least allowed a safe harbor) will have to be an "authentic" and new program - not the same old system reconfigured (reheated, renamed, "new and improved").
Frankly, if ACOs were identified by their core principles and not by cliches, some of the more advanced programs already offered by employers would qualify right now. Employers (the ones with mature programming and a primary care focus) have been ahead of the game in every category referenced by Dr. Berwick. Perhaps it is time for employers to take the lead in sending a message to the community-based health systems to tell them that concepts like the Medical Home and Accountable Care are already in place - hiding in plain sight.
Between newsletters, keep checking the Web site and adding your own innovations (and acronyms and buzzwords) - www.onsiteclinics.org.
We welcome your comments, ideas, links, complaints, or questions. |
| What is a "Blue Button," and Why Should I Care? | | |
The Blue Button is a concept, not a "thing." It suggests that each medical record portal should have a blue button that allows the user to "press here" to download his/her information. If that were done, and if all of the various medical record systems (over 200 and counting) were able to perform such a feat, the result would be patient empowerment - as well as more comprehensive, responsible, and complete medical recordkeeping.
The concept (of the Blue Button) is advanced in a paper that was sponsored by the Markle Foundation and which was released this past week in concert with both Medicare and the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) prior to implementation of the option this fall. For the first time, beneficiaries will be able to electronically download their medical information from either Medicare or the VA. President Obama announced this concept in a speech to veterans on August 3: "For the first time ever, veterans will be able to go to the VA Web site, click a simple blue button and download or print your personal health records so you have them when you need them, and can share them with your doctors outside of the VA." Read the white paper on this issue.
With consumers (your employees) taking on more of the cost of their care, isn't it time to give them some of the information that goes along with it? There are some issues with format, interpretation, linkages, etc. and perhaps many employees may not realize the power of this information; but likely, they all will soon.
In Zambia, the medical system is by any standard, primitive. However, they use a standard "blue book." (Does anyone remember the exam books that we all had to take to college courses for finals - same thing?) The book goes with the patient from place-to-place, and each practitioner writes in it. As a result, each practitioner can see what the other doctors and caregivers have done. Simple, effective, and complete communication that is patient-centered.
Hospitals and insurers won't get it, but I think employers will. Watch for the blue button to link up easily and quickly with any number of "apps" and to be embraced by information consolidators like Google and Microsoft. |
| Care Management vs. Embedded Care Management | |
While the concept of embedded care management has been around for a longtime, the new buzzword to describe it is fairly new. While I personally am not much for buzzwords and catchy phrases, my congratulations to whoever came up with the idea of linking the concept with this hot new term, "embedded care management." So, while I didn't use the term itself (and employers with established on-site services may not have thought of it when they created their care management departments) in my book ( see chapter 18), I try to explain that the most effective style of care management for the employer and potentially the most helpful to the patient is one that is located directly at the workplace site, not delivered from a remote setting.
"Embedded" means that the care management staff is actually on campus and part of the treatment team. When they are placed in proximity to the action - on-site with primary care, they are much more aware and involved. This is another good idea that is too simple to ignore. (There is also a treatment of this concept presented by the Commonwealth Fund.)
When on-site clinics are the core of a delivery system for a self-funded employer, good ideas can be implemented that would not work in the world of health care providers and fee-for-service medicine. This is one buzzword that should be on every employer's radar screen.
Again, many of the on-site vendors won't "get it" and neither will the local hospitals or community based providers. However, if you have been around long enough, you'll realize that this is a proven concept from the staff model HMO playbook. |
| Two New Vendors? | |
We recently became aware of two new vendors in the on-site clinic arena. The first is OurHealth, established in 2009 to provide a "total health management solution" to employers. The CEO and co-founder, Benjamin G. Evans, has a background in commercial real estate (per the description on the Web site). We'll wait to see what this brings to the table as their client base develops. The second, Activate Healthcare, doesn't have a Web site yet that we could find; but the co-founder here, Peter Dunn, was apparently most recently the CEO of Steak 'n Shake. Again, we'll just have to see how this vendor develops in the real world of employer-managed healthcare. |
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For more on-site clinic news, visit our Web site at www.onsiteclinics.org .
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Take a look at a couple of the upcoming conferences. These are the real high value players. MBGH (Midwest Business Group on Health) is sponsoring one of its roundtables on October 21, and the HBCE (Health Benefits Congress and Exposition) will include worksite health topics in Florida at the end of January. I have participated in each organization's offerings in the past, and while different, they both have information and value as common denominators. Go directly to their Web sites for additional information, and please pass along other meetings that you think might be of interest to this audience. Sincerely,
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ON-SITE CLINIC NEWSLETTER
