Collaborative Care Management Networks

RHIOs Emerging From Coma

July 25, 2009

A subtle but profound shift is occurring in the world of RHIOs/HIEs (Regional Health Information Organizations/Health Information Exchanges).

…and the title of the eHealth Initiative’s Sixth Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange says it all:

Migrating Toward Meaningful Use

What’s happening here?

Geek Wisdom: “Interoperability” Must Include Process Collaboration

July 13, 2009

I know — you’re thinking that using “geek” and “wisdom” in the same sentence is an oxymoron. Bear with me — I’m trying to make a really important point in today’s posting.

Interoperability has multiple dimensions — and I’d bet that most of us have never thought of interoperabilty as involving “process” — people working together and collaborating; I know I hadn’t.

The Interoperability Work Group of HL7’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Technical Committee was formed in April 2005 to attempt to define […]

Hope for Primary Care … from a Payer? A White Paper on the Collaborative Payer Model

May 7, 2009

by Tom Doerr, MD and Randy Bak, MD, JD

What if the health care payer were re-imagined as a service to the primary care doctor – supplying the tools, information and funding primary care physicians needed to meet the call to reform health delivery?

The structure of physician payment is considered one of the most problematic aspects of our health care system. Driven by volume instead of coordinated, proactive care and favoring procedures over cognitive work, the payment system has driven primary […]

Spider Webs of Care Coordination Networks

February 18, 2009

We have learned that coordinating care of patients — particular care of Medicare patients — is complex and time consuming for physicians.

A breakthrough study quantifies just how complex and challenging care coordination really is. The study is reported in the February 17 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine and is entitled Primary Care Physicians’ Links to Other Physicians Through Medicare Patients: The Scope of Care Coordination :

We found that in a single year for just fee-for-service Medicare patients, the typical primary care physician needs […]

Megatrend Spotting: Collaborative Care Management Networks

September 22, 2008

“Why can’t we all just get along?” Rodney King

The Megatrend: Collaborative Care Management Networks (CCMNs)

It’s been quite a while since I spotted a new Disease Management Megatrend, but here’s one that’s long overdue:

Collaborative Care Management Networks will be necessary to achieve optimal care coordination.

The trend in a nutshell: payers (and others) are recognizing that optimal care coordination will require collaboration among health care stakeholders. This CANNOT be achieved with yesterday’s proprietary IT and business models.

CCMNs will share many — perhaps all — […]