PROVIDENCE – Three health care organizations, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Lifespan and Coastal Medical, have partnered to coordinate care for 45,000 patients.
The three organizations have entered into an “accountable care” agreement aimed at improving how primary, specialty and inpatient care are delivered.
The pact offers incentives that reward enhanced care management and more efficient delivery of care for the 45,000 Blue Cross members who receive their primary care from Coastal Medical providers. The effort is expected to result in better health outcomes, lower costs and better service to patients, according to the deal participants.
Blue Cross, Coastal and Lifespan will remain fully independent under this agreement, but each will work with the others in a more aligned fashion than ever before.
“Coastal Medical’s primary care offices have been recognized nationally for their success in delivering high-quality care that emphasizes coordination of the services each patient receives beyond the walls of the primary care office,” said Dr. G. Alan Kurose, president and CEO of Coastal. “Under this new agreement, Coastal and Lifespan and Blue Cross will be able to take care coordination to the next level and provide a more seamless experience of care for patients, especially those with complex needs.”
One step will be to expand Coastal’s existing condition-specific programs for patients with congestive heart failure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and integrate those programs with existing systems of care at Lifespan.
Shared work in the first year also is designed to improve coordination of primary, specialty and inpatient hospital care as Lifespan and Coastal providers work together to tailor care to each patient’s medical condition and personal preferences.
Dr. Timothy J. Babineau, president and CEO of Lifespan, and Peter Andruszkiewicz, president and CEO of Blue Cross, said the shift toward collaboration will improve patient outcomes.
“Equally important, new financial incentives will continue our important work in making care affordable,” Andruszkiewicz added.
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