Published January 07, 2016
Brown & Toland Physicians and UnitedHealthcare are collaborating to improve care coordination and enhance health services through a new accountable care relationship that will benefit more than 15,000 Californians enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s employer-sponsored health plans.
Brown & Toland provides care to more than 300,000 HMO and PPO patients in Northern California, with 1,500 doctors in San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
“We are excited about working with UnitedHealthcare in this ACO to coordinate care and improve the quality of life for our patients,” said Richard Fish, Brown & Toland CEO. “Brown & Toland has been successful at developing programs that lower health care costs and improve patient care. Bringing these same care strategies to the patients in this ACO will help enhance the quality of life of even more people and bring additional savings to the health system.”
Brown & Toland and UnitedHealthcare’s collaboration continues a trend in the health care industry that promotes higher quality, lower costs and better health. Participating physicians are paid based on patients’ actual health outcomes and for encouraging services that are proven to deliver consistent, high-quality care. The enhanced care coordination makes it easier for Brown & Toland to form a complete picture of a patient’s overall health.
Through this collaboration, UnitedHealthcare and Brown & Toland will work closely to better coordinate the care of the patients, using technology, education and care coordination designed to help patients manage their chronic health conditions.
UnitedHealthcare will complement Brown & Toland’s own data by giving them the support needed to manage overall population health, including technology and information that will help the group’s 1,500 physicians take specific actions that improve quality and lower costs.
Actionable data can include patient profiles, identifying specific gaps in care, and receiving real- time information about emergency room and inpatient admissions. Patient navigators may also be used to support community-based care coordination, such as helping with transition plans after a patient is discharged from the hospital and scheduling follow-up appointments.
“We can help improve the health of the people we serve by working more closely with Brown & Toland, which is an important medical group for our plan participants in Northern California,” said Brandon Cuevas of UnitedHealthcare. “Better information about patients’ needed or missed care, emergency room and hospital admissions, and other important health developments make it easier to support each patient’s care and help them live healthier lives.”
With the transformation from fee-for-service compensation to a value-based approach, physicians are eligible to receive payment incentives based on patient satisfaction, achieving certain evidence-based measures – such as hospital readmission rates, effectively managing chronic conditions, and preventive screenings – as well as total cost savings.
UnitedHealthcare’s accountable care programs touch as many as 13 million people, delivered in part through more than 750 total accountable care arrangements nationwide as the organization engages in deeper, more collaborative relationships with physicians and hospitals.
Care providers nationwide are showing strong interest in a shift to value-based care. UnitedHealthcare’s total payments to physicians and hospitals that are tied to value-based arrangements have tripled in the last three years to $43 billion. By the end of 2018, UnitedHealthcare expects that figure to reach $65 billion.
For more information about UnitedHealthcare’s full spectrum of value-based initiatives, visit www.UHC.com/valuebasedcare.
UnitedHealthcare serves more than 3.4 million people in California with a network of more than 360 hospitals, and 90,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.
About Brown & Toland
Founded in 1992, Brown & Toland Physicians is a leading network of independent doctors focused on delivering personalized, high quality, and affordable healthcare to the San Francisco Bay Area. Brown & Toland’s 1,500 physicians, who care for more than 300,000 HMO and PPO patients, are dedicated to improving care through a number of patient-centered programs and use electronic tools to coordinate and deliver care. The group is leading the way forward in healthcare with its patient-centered medical home, My Health Medical Group, and by participating in multiple accountable care projects for both HMO and PPO patients. To learn more, visit brownandtoland.com or follow Brown & Toland on Twitter at @BrownandToland.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.