Aetna offers financial incentives to physicians who adopt electronic health record technology

Aetna Chief Medical Officer, Lonny Reisman, M.D., will attend the Health Industry Forum and present the insurer's plan to advance electronic health records adoption and meaningful use to help drive improvements in health care quality, cost and accessibility. To support this work, Aetna (NYSE: AET) will, through its provider contracting process, offer financial incentives to physicians who achieve specific quality of care goals and who make investments in technology for implementation of an electronic health record.

“The appropriate exchange of health information across our system through health information technology can improve coordination of care and facilitate a collaborative approach to keeping patients healthier. But we need to do more”

Today's Forum meeting, led by David Blumenthal, M.D., National Health Information Technology Coordinator, is a continuation of an earlier discussion around ways the private sector can help to accelerate the goal of meaningful use in support of quality improvement and efficiency of U.S. health care.

"The appropriate exchange of health information across our system through health information technology can improve coordination of care and facilitate a collaborative approach to keeping patients healthier. But we need to do more," said Reisman. "The public and private sectors need to put the necessary focus on building the electronic health care platform of the future. Doctors and patients need these solutions now; the faster we build the health information highway, the sooner quality of care will improve for all of us."

Earlier today, ActiveHealth Management, an Aetna subsidiary, announced it has entered into a significant relationship with IBM to jointly design, develop, market and operate a unique product called Collaborative Care Solution. The solution will enable medical practices, hospitals and states to effectively change the way they deliver health care - using health information exchange and real-time clinical decision support - and demonstrate that they are providing better quality care at a lower cost.

The solution is not simply enablement of electronic exchange, but gives care teams the ability to improve the care that they deliver. The solution harnesses data from multiple sources to create a more complete view of the patient, and enables doctors to act on it at the point of care. They can communicate with their patients, either in person or electronically through secure channels, or with other members of the extended care team, such as nurse practitioners or physician extenders. Importantly, the solution is based on ActiveHealth's CareEngine^® technology. This technology delivers insights based on evidence-based guidelines as well as detects gaps or omissions in care. It has proven to improve care while reducing costs. This "early warning system" not only helps identify patients in greatest need, it also provides a tool that permits the entire care team to engage to protect and improve the health of patients before they need a visit to the emergency room or hospital.