Curaspan Health Group Announces the Release of OutreachCentral to Automate Post-Discharge Communication for Patients at High Risk of Readmission

NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Curaspan Health Group^®, the industry leader in patient-transition solutions for hospitals, post-acute care providers and payers today introduced OutreachCentral, the latest addition to its suite of software-as-a-service solutions.  OutreachCentral helps identify patients most at-risk for readmission by automating post-care phone calls to patients discharged home from inpatient care and emergency departments.  Integrated with the Curaspan core offerings, OutreachCentral helps optimize quality of care and patient satisfaction.

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OutreachCentral integrates with DischargeCentral^®, the Curaspan cornerstone product, which automates and tracks patient discharges to post-acute care facilities. The combined solution enables hospitals to manage 100 percent of their population with minimal administrative intervention and facilitates the daunting task of reaching every patient discharged within 72 hours. The automated phone call gauges patient understanding of discharge, medication and follow-up care plans and allows clinicians to triage patients with critical health issues. 

"Together, OutreachCentral and DischargeCentral will provide hospitals with a broad range of insight," says Curaspan President and CEO Thomas R. Ferry. "The solution gives our customers the tools they need to deliver measurable value with a patient-transition process that yields the highest clinical quality and patient satisfaction at the lowest cost."

OutreachCentral is powered by Phytel, the premier company empowering physician-led population health improvement. The solution is designed to both reduce avoidable readmissions and improve HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) patient satisfaction scores. It leverages hospital and physician electronic health record data and clinical rule sets to identify recently discharged patients at high risk for readmission. It then delivers automated daily health and assessments over the phone to gather information and feedback from the patients. Hospitals can call back patients who have other concerns about the care they received, providing another opportunity to improve patient satisfaction scores, now publicly available on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' HospitalCompare website.

"We are excited to partner with Curaspan, an industry leader in managing acute and post-acute care transitions, to provide a new level of transition management for their clients," said Steve Schelhammer, CEO of Phytel.

Matt Waldron, Phytel Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Development, added, "In combination with Curaspan, Phytel can provide hospitals with automated outreach they need to avoid unnecessary readmissions and improve patient satisfaction while reducing costs."

Phytel has been recognized nationally for helping health-care organizations drive patient-centered, high-quality care. Three of the company's solutions have achieved pre-validation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), giving physician clients autocredit toward patient-centered medical home status.

Founded in 1999, Curaspan set the standard for the secure transmission of clinical data about patients moving from one level of care to another. Long-standing customers include Saint Thomas Health (part of Ascension Health), Vanguard Health Systems, Amedisys Home Health Care, American Medical Response, Gentiva Health Services, Golden Living and Life Care Centers of America.

About Curaspan Health Group
Curaspan Health Group connects providers, payers and suppliers via secure electronic patient-transition networks to improve outcomes as patients move between levels of care. Interoperable with all HIS, it's the foundation for initiatives like ACOs, HIEs, value-based purchasing and other evolving models of care and reimbursement. With a unique combination of workflow tools, content and service, its Web-based platform helps improve operational efficiency and clinical care at leading health-care organizations nationwide. Founded in 1999, Curaspan headquarters are in Newton, Mass. For more information, please visit Curaspan.com.

About Phytel  
The premier company empowering physician-led population health improvement, Phytel provides physicians with proven technology to deliver timely, coordinated care to their patients. Phytel's state-of-the-art registry, which now encompasses more than 30 million patients nationwide, uses evidence-based chronic and preventive care protocols to identify and notify patients due for service, while tracking compliance and measuring quality and financial results. Phytel is ISO 9001:2008 certified, confirming adherence to ISO's internationally recognized Total Quality Management (TQM) standards. For more information, please visit www.phytel.com.

SOURCE Curaspan Health Group