UW Medicine Establishes An Accountable Care Network And Launches Its First Relationship With A Major Employer

SEATTLE, June 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- UW Medicine announced today that it has formed an accountable care network with other healthcare organizations in Puget Sound and has entered into an agreement to offer healthcare services to certain employees of Boeing beginning in January, 2015.

"This is a very exciting time for UW Medicine," said UW Medicine CEO Paul Ramsey, M.D. "Working with a large employer like Boeing provides us with the perfect opportunity to achieve goals that support our mission to improve the health of the public. These goals, known as the Triple Aim, include improving the quality of care for individuals, improving health outcomes for the population as a whole and reducing costs to improve the value of care." 

Boeing has selected the UW Medicine Accountable Care Network for its new Preferred Partnership option, which is available in the Puget Sound area for nonunion employees as well as some union-represented employees and some retirees. Eligible employees can stay in their current plan or they can select the new option, which allows them to choose one of two networks for their care: either the UW Medicine Accountable Care Network or the Providence-Swedish Health Alliance network. Employees will make the selection during annual enrollment for benefits this November for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2015.

This new service delivery option is designed to provide a better experience for Boeing employees and their families and be more affordable. 

"The Puget Sound region has the advantage of having some of the best, most progressive providers and medical centers in the country," said Alan May, vice president of Human Resources for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "For this initiative, we chose Providence-Swedish and UW Medicine for several key reasons – they are well respected, have a broad geographic reach, provide the full continuum of care and have demonstrated a commitment to transform how health care is delivered. Boeing will continue to engage with other providers in the community in an effort to transform the delivery system with a goal of providing access to high quality care."

The UW Medicine Accountable Care Network will focus on keeping people healthy and out of the hospital by employing evidence-based preventive measures to identify and treat underlying health problems early before they become chronic conditions.

"Our network is well positioned to provide seamless, integrated, high quality care for patients," said Johnese Spisso, UW Medicine chief health system officer. "Patients will have prompt access to comprehensive care. Our medical home model also helps us to efficiently and effectively manage patients who have chronic medical conditions."

The UW Medicine Accountable Care Network offers a comprehensive network of services for Boeing employees from Bellingham to Tacoma. In addition to the eight UW Medicine entities – Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, Valley Medical Center, UW Medical Center, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians, UW School of Medicine and Airlift Northwest – the UW Medicine Accountable Care Network provides access to numerous member hospitals, clinics, physicians, and other services. Current UW Medicine Accountable Care Network members include Cascade Valley Hospital, Island Hospital, Overlake Medical Center, MultiCare Health System, PeaceHealth, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle Children's, and Skagit Valley Hospital.

"We have ongoing discussions with a number of potential accountable care partners," said Ramsey. "With medicine changing as rapidly as it is today, we believe that people need healthcare professionals who are directly linked to the latest medical discoveries. As the only fully comprehensive healthcare system in the region with integrated research and educational programs, we bring the new approaches to prevention and treatment to the clinics and hospital rooms more rapidly than anyone else. That approach translates into better patient care." 

SOURCE UW Medicine