AJMC in the Press, September 23, 2016

A new article in The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) presenting results from Aledade drew reader and press interest this week. Authors Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, and Travis Broome, MPH, found the physician-led accountable care organizations they run can find shared savings in Medicare, but they need support, especially with health information technology. Sarah Morse of Healthcare Finance News featured the findings, which highlight the need for practices to pay close attention to the cost of specialist care. As hospitals buy up specialty practices, these new “hospital outpatient” settings can suddenly be twice as expensive, which Aledade takes into account.

Sara Heath of Patient Engagement HIT mentioned a December 2015 AJMC study in an overview of how health systems can address increasing patient financial responsibility. That study, led by Mary Reed, DrPH, of Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research, found that patients were more likely to engage in provider portals and use e-mail once the copay for an office visit reached $60 or more. The study also found that 90% of patients would contact their providers via telephone if secure messages were an option.