MEDecision publishes e-book to support PCMH implementations

MEDecision, Inc., a leading provider of collaborative healthcare management solutions, on November 4 published an e-book, "The Patient-Centered Medical Home: The Cornerstone of Healthcare Transformation." The complimentary e-book can be downloaded at http://www.medecision.com/insightseries.

“The Patient-Centered Medical Home: The Cornerstone of Healthcare Transformation.”

The e-book marks the MEDecision launch of an integrated campaign to present the company's concept for advancing technologies that will support Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) implementations. MEDecision is exploring these concepts during a series of industry events, including:

• Institute for Health IT Transformation's (iHT²) Fall Health IT Summit
• Medical Group Management Association's (MGMA) Second Annual PCMH Conference

The PCMH model has become one of the healthcare industry's most discussed topics. Its ability to foster collaboration among healthcare stakeholders centered on a holistic, patient-centric approach to care holds perhaps the best hope to transform and improve the system. Recent studies show that hospital readmissions of patients with chronic disease can be reduced by 46 percent for those whose care is managed within a medical home.

"An effective PCMH will require sophisticated business and clinical intelligence in order to proactively identify and stratify members most at risk for frequent hospitalizations or costly healthcare services. The new model will also require care management tools for developing individualized plans of care based on evidence-based best practices and efficiently managing tasks associated with care coordination," said Eric Demers, senior vice president, health and life science for MEDecision. "We are building on our 22-year history in these areas to develop leading-edge technologies that will help make the possibilities of the medical home a reality."

The comprehensive new e-book addresses how increased adoption of the PCMH model creates new opportunities for health plans, especially for cost reduction and competitive advantage. Readers will also learn how the combination of powerful analytics; workflow tools; a health plan's comprehensive, longitudinal patient data; and health information exchange capabilities is key to optimizing health outcomes, maximizing member and provider satisfaction, and lowering costs.

MEDecision Debuts E-book at Health IT Events

MEDecision highlighted the company's PCMH concept at the iHT² Fall Health IT Summit on November 3-4, 2010, in Beverly Hills. There, Demers joined senior executives from the American College of Physicians, Cedars Sinai Health System, Cottage Health System, and IBM during a panel session titled, "Beyond the Hospital Walls: Incorporating the Patient-Centered Medical Home into the Healthcare Continuum." This session addressed the central role of technologies in the resurgence of the medical home.

MEDecision also will demonstrate the company's PCMH concepts during the second annual MGMA PCMH Conference, "The Journey to High Performance," in Orlando on November 11-13, 2010.

Further, MEDecision also offers the complimentary on-demand webinar, "The Patient Centered Medical Home and Evolving Care Management Processes," featuring Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma and MEDecision, as they examine the medical home concept and how it correlates with care management processes that have evolved within the payer space.