A study found payers can partner with physicians to both save costs and deliver care more efficiently, according to Health System Management.
In the study, Cigna partnered with Dallas-Forth Worth-based Medical Clinic of North Texas to enhance its service quality while truncating costs.
Here are five key notes:
1. The partnership was part of Cigna's Collaborative Accountable Care initiative, a shared savings program that provides practices in their first participation year an up-front coordination fee that pays for infrastructure investment.
2. Cigna also helped MCNT hire a nurse that could aid in hospital discharge coordination for those patients at a higher readmission risk. The nurse also could head outreach efforts to high-risk patients, patient education as well as patient prescription-compliance.
3. Through the partnership, Cigna vowed to share any realized cost savings with MCNT from moving to a coordinated care model.
4. For the practice's Cigna patients, costs were lower by nearly 6 percent when compared to other Cigna patients in the north Texas area. For MCNT patients, nearly 50 percent of the savings were due to fewer services used, while the remaining 50 percent was due to price reduction.
5. Other studies yielded mixed results in showing whether coordinated care lowers costs. However, this study demonstrated the study could effectively lower costs as the agreement was formed directly with physicians.
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