Premier PHC and Encompass Announce New Accountable Care Partnership

DALLAS, June 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Premier Patient Health Care (Premier PHC) and Encompass Home Health & Hospice (Encompass) are pleased to announce a new partnership that actively manages the quality and cost of care for patients across multiple settings, in order to meet quality benchmarks and improve patient outcomes.

Premier PHC is an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) serving over 20,000 Medicare patients in north Texas and south Oklahoma. Encompass serves as a preferred post-acute partner to Premier PHC, providing home health care, hospice care, care transitions, transitional care management, and care management. The collaboration between Premier PHC and Encompass provides ACO patients with seamless, quality care across the entire health care ecosystem, rather than the disjointed, disconnected care that often occurs in the current healthcare environment. Likewise, this new partnership focuses on proper care transition of patients after hospital discharge, and reduces healthcare costs in the process.

"According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. health expenditures are expected to reach approximately 20% of GDP by 2021," said Anwar Kazi, COO of Patient Healthcare. "Attention to cost control and patient care have never been more important. Through this new partnership, Premier PHC and Encompass are mutually dedicated to driving cost efficiency and high quality patient care."

"Premier PHC and Encompass are committed to delivering value for Medicare patients," said April Anthony, CEO at Encompass. "This partnership provides numerous opportunities to decrease costs and improve the overall quality of care for these patients."

Benefits of this new partnership include:

• Improved communication and care coordination between ACO physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to ensure care is delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner
• Improved access to care for ACO patients, including home visits and transitional care, to help ACO patients easily navigate through the entire care cycle
• Through increased communication and care coordination, fewer unnecessary medical tests for ACO patients
• Strong preference, when appropriate, for treating ACO patients in the most convenient and comfortable setting – the patient's home
• Centralized customer service support, with one phone number to follow up on referrals, reach a care coordinator, or check status

Patients treated in the Premier PHC ACO can expect:

• No change in their current Medicare benefits, including cost, coverage, and the ability to choose healthcare providers and self-direct care
• Fewer profile forms to complete and fewer requests for records, information, and tests
• Centralized information resources to better inform physicians, healthcare providers, caregivers, and hospitals resulting in better care
• Better health and quality of life – with statistics showing that coordinated care participants enjoy improved health, greater autonomy, and fewer hospital admissions when compared to patients without access to coordinated care

Encompass will provide the following added value to Premier PHC's patients and physicians:

• Streamlined referral process
• 30-day post hospital discharge transitional care management
• Care coordination for acute, high risk patients
• In support of Premier PHC and its physician partners, information and assistance to patients in maximizing the benefits of the ACO
• Completion of beneficiary Health Risk Assessments
• Coordination of post-discharge follow up appointments with PCPs and specialists
• In collaboration with Premier PHC, monitoring of key quality indicators to control cost, increase quality and develop evidence-based protocols guided by partner physicians

Premier PHC and Encompass are devoted to achieving higher quality outcomes at a lower cost. By reducing the time patients spend in higher cost settings, providing enhanced care transitions coordination, and utilizing preventive strategies such as disease care management, the partnership addresses unique challenges faced by high risk patients. Through proactive and efficient communication among the Premier PHC central business office, Premier physicians, Encompass, patients, and patient families and caregivers, this exciting new partnership delivers success for both patients and providers. For more information, contact Janice Green, RN at 1-844-248-2622. 

About Encompass Home Health

Founded in 1998 by April Anthony (CEO), Encompass Home Health & Hospice is based in Dallas, TX and is an industry homecare leader serving 12 states nationwide. Dedicated to their company mission, A Better Way to Care, Encompass earned 18 Best Place to Work awards in 2013, including awards by Modern Healthcare (7^th position in large company category), Texas Monthly (9^th position) and The Oklahoman (1^st position in large company category), all while serving over 50,000 patients and performing over 1.6 million patient visits. Encompass is a top 10, nationally-ranked healthcare provider based on Medicare revenue, and continues to be the largest Medicare-certified home health provider in Texas and Oklahoma. Encompass operates in 138 locations, serving Home Health patients in 104 locations, Hospice patients in 21 locations, and Pediatric patients in 9 locations. Encompass supports over 4,500 employees with a turnover rate of only 17 percent, one of the lowest in the homecare industry.

About Premier PHC

Premier PHC is a licensed Medicare ACO serving 5 regions in North Texas and Southern Oklahoma. Premier is a physician-owned, physician-led and patient-driven organization providing coordinated services to its' beneficiaries, increasing quality while reducing cost. Premier ACO is accountable for more than 20,000 Medicare beneficiaries and is twice the size of the national average. As an ACO, premier agrees to be accountable for the quality, cost, and overall care of Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in the traditional fee-for-service program, while allowing the member physicians to maintain their independence.  

SOURCE Encompass Home Health