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Welcome to this week's issue of VBC Newsstand brought to you by VBCExhibitHall.com
Health IT Answers | May 27, 2023
Telehealth provides healthcare without an in-person visit by utilizing technology (HHS, 2023). Patients can talk to their provider over the phone, via video chat, or through secure messaging. Telehealth can also involve remote monitoring of the patient’s vital signs, such as blood pressure and heart rate, via devices worn by the patient. Then the technology sends the results to their provider. Healthcare equity is defined as the opportunity for everyone to receive healthcare regardless of social or economic status. Underserved communities include, for example, patients with low income, patients who live in rural areas, older patients, and patients with disabilities. Underserved communities often lack equal access to healthcare, which can lead to higher mortality rates, higher rates of disease, increased illness severity, higher medical costs, and other consequences. Telehealth opens the door for improved medical care for these underserved communities. 
Tackling value-based care is crucial with the upcoming 2030 mandate by CMS. But it can be challenging for providers to deliver equitable care while hitting value-based care goals. Still, providers don’t have much of a choice since value-based care is replacing fee-for-service as the method of reimbursement in the industry. To get a look at value-based care from the primary care provider’s view, we sat down with Brandon Clark, chief strategy officer at Equality Health, a value-based care company that partners with independent primary care physicians under Medicaid contracts to take on risk and unburden providers. It has more than 3,200 PCPs in its network and partners with 25 health plans.
Large retailers – like CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) – that have invested heavily in home-based care aren’t just hoping for a boon from those capabilities. They’re banking on it. CVS Health has reworked its business model to capitalize off of the shift from fee for service to value-based payment in health care. “The tactical challenge is [around] how to create better earnings growth sort of from that profile of businesses and that led us to think a lot about a lot of different alternatives,” CVS Health CFO Shawn Guertin said during the Bernstein 39th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Wednesday. “But what we began to realize is that there was an opportunity here that was somewhat unique to us – to play on a really powerful trend in health care, which is value-based care and the move to value-based care from fee for service.”
Healthcare companies are ramping up health equity efforts. However, many are still missing the mark, one executive recently said. “When we talk about health inequity, when we talk about social determinants of health, that’s been reduced to this checklist of unmet social needs,” said Dr. Shreya Kangovi, executive director of the Penn Center for Community Health Workers. “Where on that checklist does racism fit in? Where on that checklist does lack of power fit in? That has to be part of the equation. People’s individual circumstances are so much more nuanced than, ‘Here’s a referral to the food pantry’ or ‘Here’s a referral for a ride.’”
Sponsored Webinars
UPCOMING WEBINARS:

The Path to Health Equity: Closing the gap between policy and SDOH actionability
  • Topic: Problems and opportunities of SDOH, the gap between CMS policy and available tools, costs and incentives by model, and unique approaches and solutions
Sponsored by: Salient Healthcare
June 6, 2023 | 1 PM EST

The Mystique of eCQMs: What Are Advantages for ACOs' APP Reporting?
  • Topic: Understanding eCQMs, how they may help or hinder ACOs, and how to get more out of data to improve outcomes and costs
Sponsored by: Roji Health Intelligence
June 7, 2023 | 1 PM EST

Maximizing financial performance under value-based care: A spotlight on contracting and risk adjustment
  • Topic: Incorporating data-infused goals in contract design, gaining enhanced visibility through real-time performance measurement, and shifting risk adjustment upstream
Sponsored by: Edifecs
June 8, 2023 | 1 PM EST

Ongoing OIG Risk Adjustment Scrutiny: Top 3 Key Insights for ACOs, Payers, CINs and Providers
  • Topic: Understanding OIG Risk Adjustments audits, learning to identify potential audit threats, and developing solutions to mitigate risk, elevate member quality-of-care, and improve outcomes
Sponsored by: ATTAC Consulting Group
June 22, 2023 | 2 PM EST

RECORDED WEBINARS:

Check our our Webinar Archive to view past webinars on a variety of value-based care related topics!
Upcoming Conferences
2023 Virtual National Advanced Healthcare at Home Summit
July 11-14, 2023 | Virtual

RISE West 2023
August 28-30, 2023 | Dallas, TX

Activate2023
September 27-28, 2023 | Minneapolis, MN

EXHIBITOR SPOTLIGHT
Propelled by the vision of a healthcare system that makes better, data-informed decisions, Health Data Analytics Institute (HDAI) offers a versatile analytic platform that creates a shared understanding of quantified health risks and personalized care profiles to inform actions with the greatest potential to benefit patients. The HDAI team has extensive experience working with healthcare organizations, life science, medical technology, big data, enterprise software, and data security companies, making them experts in predictive analytics with a deep commitment to making a positive impact on US healthcare by providing a platform that can be used to improve care delivery, especially for vulnerable populations. HDAI is driven to support the clinicians and patients they serve by transforming data into insights, and insights into solutions.
Platinum Level Exhibitors
Thank you to our Platinum Level exhibitors. These organizations offer the absolute highest quality products & services to the ACO & IPA community. To learn more & visit their interactive booths, click on the logos below:
Gold Level Exhibitors
Thank you to our Gold Level exhibitors. To learn more & visit their interactive booths, click on the logos below:
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