UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care Launches First-Ever Activity Report; Highlights Important Health Care Quality Improvement and Research Initiatives

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care recently published its first Activity Report, which chronicles its efforts to improve health care quality, enhance the patient experience, and reduce health care costs locally and across the nation since its inception in 2011.

Some examples of the Center's work include, but are not limited to:

• Successful efforts to support person-centered care and improve communication between behavioral health care professionals and patients with serious mental illness by incorporating mobile technology throughout the treatment cycle.

• Earning one of the nation's first contracts by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) for optimizing behavioral health care delivery, and a second PCORI contract for engaging behavioral health patients in their treatment protocol.

• Authoring an article that was recently published in the respected peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs. The article summarizes promising research about adopting the structure of patient centered medical homes (PCMH) on a wide scale to achieve health care cost savings and reduce overuse of emergency medical services.

As a nonprofit research organization housed within the UPMC Insurance Services Division, the UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care leverages its unique position to strengthen collaboration across UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh, and other academic and community partners.

One such collaboration detailed in the Activity Report is the "UPMC for You High-Value Care for Kids" project. This project hinges on the Center's work to redefine and streamline a payment model for some of the most medically complex and vulnerable members of UPMC for You, the physical health Medicaid managed care organization of the UPMC Insurance Services Division. In addition to the Center, stakeholders include Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Children's Community Pediatrics and General Academic Pediatrics, along with families, advocates, and policymakers. The initiative is one of only four such projects funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation nationwide.

"We are very excited to have a report that showcases the success of our work over the past four years," said Donna Keyser, Senior Director of the UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care. "We understand that the achievements contained within are not ours alone; they are a result of years of planning and preparation through a collective effort of our staff, our partners, and our stakeholders. This report is a great testament to everyone we worked with, and those whom we will continue to work with in years to come."

Since August 1, 2009, nearly $12 million has been awarded to UPMC Insurance Services Division entities by various private funding partners, and academic and government institutions. This achievement is largely due to grant proposals investigated and written by the Center. The funding will continue through the first quarter of 2017, and currently supports 13 health care quality improvement projects that advance the health of UPMC Health Plan members and the communities that UPMC serves.

Please visit www.upmchighvaluehealthcare.com:

• Watch an introductory video of the Activity Report by Donna Keyser, Senior Director, UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care.
• Download a PDF of the UPMC Center for High-Value Health Care Activity Report, 2011-2014.
• Learn about the UPMC Center for High Value Health Care's latest news, events, and research.

About UPMC Health Plan
UPMC Health Plan, the second-largest health insurer in western Pennsylvania, is owned by UPMC, an integrated global health enterprise. The integrated partner companies of the UPMC Insurance Services Division – which includes UPMC Health Plan, UPMC WorkPartners, LifeSolutions (EAP), UPMC for You (Medical Assistance), and Community Care Behavioral Health – offer a full range of group health insurance, Medicare, Special Needs, CHIP, Medical Assistance, behavioral health, employee assistance, and workers' compensation products and services to nearly 2.3 million members. Our local provider network includes UPMC as well as community providers, totaling more than 125 hospitals and more than 11,500 physicians throughout Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. For more information, visit www.upmchealthplan.com.

SOURCE UPMC Health Plan

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