Falls Church, Va.-based healthcare IT vendor CSC announced this week the launch of a full-service Chronic Care Management (CCM) service, with Michigan-based accountable care organization Reliance ACO as its first adopter.
Building on a similar CSC service launched last year in the United Kingdom, CSC’s CCM solution gives healthcare providers a technology-based approach to fully participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Chronic Care Management (CCM) program, which focuses on improving the quality of life for seniors with at least two chronic conditions, the company said.
In January 2015, CMS established the CCM program to control costs and provide seniors with better long-term care for chronic conditions. The program incentivizes improved care for seniors with chronic illnesses while building the infrastructure for value-based care. Under the program, CMS reimburses the provision of non-face-to-face care to seniors who have at least two conditions that are expected to last at least 12 months, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes and heart failure.
Mohamed Siddique, M.D., president of Reliance ACO said in a statement that the organization selected CSC because the CCM solution “delivers the technology, logistical and patient engagement support for meeting 100 percent of CMS guidelines. “It’s scalable to meet our physicians’ needs and cost efficient as it doesn’t require a capital investment,” Siddique said. Reliance ACO is a group of independent physicians in southeast Michigan and is not affiliated with any one medical system.
Robert Wah, M.D., CSC’s global chief medical officer, said the solution aligns with the ongoing transition in healthcare to value-based models of care. “CSC’s CCM solution allows physicians more time to focus on the patient, improving patient outcomes and enhancing communication between patients and their caregivers. It also ensures that the care meets all of the CCM program requirements,” he said in a statement.
CSC partnered with Smartlink Mobile Systems, LLC of Cary, N.C., and GenerationOne of Southfield, Mich., to develop the CCM solution as-a-Service. CSC will leverage Smartlink’s platform for CCM program management and electronic medical record (EMR) agnostic coordination between providers and mobile patient communication to deliver collaboration with clinics as well as ensure compliance with the program requirements, the company said in an announcement.
The solution includes patient outreach center; implementation of patient-centered care plans; care transition management; electronic collaboration and transmission of clinical documents, asynchronous communication and time tracking; behavioral engagement coaching; patient education; integration and interoperability with EMRs and mobile engagement with exception-based management.
“With the multitude of downward reimbursement pressures that providers are facing this year, the CCM program represents a tremendous opportunity to impact both clinical and financial outcomes immediately, Siu Tong, chief executive officer, Smartlink Mobile, said in a statement.
