Integrity Health Announces Innovative Partnership to Enhance Patient-Centered Approach to Care

PRINCETON, N.J., May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrity Health, a Princeton-based health benefits management company, today announced implementation of a key component of its "Lower Costs through Better Health" program.  President Douglas Forrester heralded Integrity Health's new affiliation with Partners in Care (PIC), a physician-owned, care coordination company. "Our approach is simple: we are convinced the only way to lower healthcare costs is to put patients in the hands of the most competent doctors as quickly as possible and then coordinate patient care among these professionals. Complementing our wellness initiatives and our medical home concept is PIC's ability to identify and work collegially with the most competent providers of care on behalf of our program members. Better, coordinated care delivered expeditiously is the recipe for health as well as substantial cost savings."

The "Care Coordination Program" to be overseen by PIC strengthens Integrity Health's Partnership Health Center (PHC) platform which is the coordinating hub of care for providers associated with the on-site, employer-sponsored facility. Plan members and their dependents have no out-of-pocket costs for primary care services including Rx, lab and X-ray. PHC will continue to serve as the "medical home" from which participating patients and their doctors make their medical decisions. The Care Coordination Program will promote professional collaboration and application of best practices among affiliated physicians and specialists to enhance overall patient care.  

The Integrity Health program will now offer the unparalleled ability to identify and monitor high-risk patients, facilitate communication and coordination between and among physicians and the patients, and provide a central database as a professional resource within the Partnership Health Center to expedite care.  The patient's personal physicians remain as his or her central sources for medical care, and the program will ensure that all of the patient's care givers are working from the same treatment plan.  Patient participation in the program is voluntary.  

In its initial phase, the program will focus on the key chronic conditions of pain management, oncology, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and congestive heart failure, as well as patients with highly complex conditions.  Integrity Health expects to expand the management program for its clients over time.  

How it works:

All available medical claims and laboratory and pharmacy data are combined into a straightforward dashboard that provides Integrity Health related providers an understanding of the complexity and prevalence of chronic conditions of their patients. PIC will pinpoint those patients who are best served by the Care Coordination Program's services and will outline the various approaches that will be used to bring those patients into compliance with national, evidence-based guidelines.

Benefits:

• Integrates relevant medical data sources to promote better informed treatment pathways
• Creates sustainable and quantifiable improvements in cost and quality;
• Facilitates the safety, effectiveness, timeliness, and efficiency of healthcare;
• Promotes the ability of beneficiaries to participate in decisions concerning their care;
• Addresses unjustified variations in utilization & expenditure across delivery systems.

This new program within the embrace of Integrity Health's Partnership Health Center will allow Integrity Health to further enhance its commitment to facilitate better patient care through a strong primary care relationship and close coordination with specialists and other care providers.  

"Patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes see many different specialists and providers with little to no coordination among them - it is unnecessary, disorganized and dangerous," said Steven Goldberg, MD, Chairman, PIC.  "Monitoring these patients and ensuring their care givers are talking to one another – with one patient-selected personal physician in the leadership role – will undoubtedly lead to safer, more consistent, and more effective medical care."

"A coordinated approach makes sense from a health perspective, as well as a financial perspective," said Kevin O'Brien, President & CEO, PIC.  "Our capabilities fit perfectly within Integrity Health's integrated management structure and commitment to total, financial transparency."

Mr. Forrester was elated:  "The inclusion of PIC's capabilities within the Integrity Health program now means we offer access to the most comprehensive, operating medical home model in New Jersey. I am unaware of a more powerful mechanism in the marketplace today to promote efficient and effective healthcare."

About Integrity Health

Integrity Health, LLC is an employee benefits management company specializing in the design and operation of customized, self-funded employer health plans.  The Integrity Health program was designed specifically for employers and employees who desire to control healthcare costs without sacrificing benefits coverage.  Its purpose is to enable plan sponsors and their members – from schools, towns, counties, public authorities, hospital systems and Taft-Hartley funds – to realize the financial and program benefits that come with control over their own health plans.  Integrity Health's motto is "Lower Costs through Better Health" and its focus is to ensure that all the various components of a health benefits program operate together to realize this philosophy.

About Partners In Care, Corp.

Partners In Care, Corp. (PIC) is a privately held, physician owned, for-profit provider of healthcare and management services.  Our services are designed to improve quality and reduce the total overall cost of care for purchasers, plan sponsors, ACOs, and health plans.  We accomplish this through the objective, transparent, and quantified improvement in generally accepted quality metrics and delivery system restructuring.

For more information about Integrity Health, please visit www.integrityhealth.com.

SOURCE Integrity Health, LLC