HHS Offers Docs $840 MIllion In Incentives

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

HHS Secretary Sylvia M Burwell has announced an $840 million initiative with the goal of improving care and lowering costs.

A new four-year initiative will offer more than 150,000 physicians a chance at part of $840 million in incentives. According to Health Data Management, the incentive is motivation for physicians to “transform” their practices, as well as improve care quality and efficiency through information technologies.

“The administration is partnering with clinicians to find better ways to deliver care, pay providers and distribute information to improve the quality of care we receive and spend our nation’s dollars more wisely,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “We all have a stake in achieving these goals and delivering for patients, providers and taxpayers alike.”

According to the HHS announcement, strategies could include:

• giving doctors better access to patient information, such as information on prescription drug use to help patients take their medications properly
• expanding the number of ways patients are able communicate with the team of clinicians taking care of them
• improving the coordination of patient care by primary care providers, specialists, and the broader medical community
• using electronic health records on a daily basis to examine data on quality and efficiency

CMS plans to use a two pronged approach, using what they call Practice Transformation Networks and Support and Alignment Networks. Healthcare IT News explains that through Practice Transformation Networks, “CMS will award cooperative agreements to group practices, health systems and other providers that join together to serve as trusted partners in providing clinician practices with quality improvement expertise, best practices, coaching and assistance.”

CMS will award cooperative agreements to Support and Alignment Networks, who would align their memberships, communication channels, continuing medical education credits and other work to support practice transformation networks and clinician practices.

“Clinicians want to spend time with their patients, coordinate care, and improve patient outcomes, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services wants to be a collaborative partner helping clinicians achieve those goals and spread best practices across the nation,” said Patrick Conway, M.D., deputy administrator for innovation and quality and CMS chief medical officer.