Wellvana

👩⚕️ + 📱We’re big believers that the secret to value-based care is a high-touch, human experience. But it’s the pairing with data and technology that enables life-changing primary care. Behind every good piece of technology is a responsive team, constantly innovating, updating and planning for what’s next. Desiree Reyes manages the team over our Clarity™ EHR overlay. Through this tool, physicians see a fuller picture of their patients between appointments — from hospitalizations to social determinants of health. And they’re presented with actionable insights at the point of care. By helping practices get the most out of Clarity and improving the experience through regular updates, Desiree is leading the way to Wellvana.

🤕 One wrong number is all it takes.   A patient in Michigan was hospitalized in July and ended up septic. Before going home, he spent some time in a skilled nursing facility.   Upon discharge, Crystal Lemos, RN, called to support the patient as a standard practice in Wellvana’s Foundational Care. Our nurses always ask about medication at times like these since changes in medication often lead to confusion.   This patient didn’t know what he was taking.   A few more questions revealed he also didn’t have any help at home. And he didn’t know if home health was coming to assist.   So Crystal traces back his steps through the health system. She discovers the SNF did order home health. But when she calls the home health agency, she learns that they couldn’t reach the patient, even after several attempts.   Just to be sure, she confirms that the agency has the same phone number for the patient that she has.   There’s the disconnect. Wrong number.   Without this kind of persistent support after hospitalizations, Medicare patients are more likely to wind up back in the hospital. Wellvana has seen a reduction in readmissions for practices who participate, on average removing approximately $1,200 in cost per patient from the healthcare system.    https://lnkd.in/eHyxBPvD

🥇 It’s been a medal-worthy week at Wellvana. The closing ceremonies for the Wellvana Olympics didn’t hold a candle to Paris. And the only sweat involved was on our palms during the all-team typing sprint. But we’re feeling the post-games glow and enjoying the custom hardware that goes along with bragging rights. Congratulations to our gold medalists: 🥤 Cup Gymnastics — Clutch Time Caroline Dowd ⌨️ 100m Typing — Captain Clickity Clack Michael Crum (hitting 100 wpm!) 🐶 Pets in Show — Levi the Olympic Sprinter (owner Rachael Torony) ✨ Gleams Newsletter Trivia — Dr. Factoid Rachael Torony, LCSW 🤩 20 Seconds of Stardom (virtual talent show) — Fiddlin’ Ricky DeVennish Amid the unique challenges of the week, Wellvana team members showed discipline, genuine skill and a commitment to excellence — which comes as no surprise. Thank you to our team members that Go for the Gold every day to make value-based care work for providers, payors and patients. 

🔮 There’s no crystal ball in value-based care. We have actuaries. And we’re welcoming two more to our growing team. Vice president Kevin Dotson brings more than two decades of actuarial leadership, having led value-based initiatives at both payors and providers. Director Adam Slatky, FSA, MAAA is an actuary who specializes in value-based after a career similarly spent with both payors and providers. Actuaries rarely travel in pairs, but Kevin’s and Adam’s lengthy experience has overlapped not once but twice. “Success in value-based care requires more than good intentions to support our patient’s needs. We pair our historical data insights with emerging patient health conditions, then layer on an array of care management interventions to create more valuable care for everyone involved,” says Jay Hazelrigs, Wellvana’s Chief Actuary. Thank you for showing us the way to Wellvana.

Medicare patients have largely been left in the dark about the transformational shift underway to make their care more valuable. CMS has recognized this knowledge gap and responded with the creation of its “Value-Based Care Spotlight” page aimed at patients. Link: https://lnkd.in/eBxrsGh7 Value-based care requires behavior change from everyone involved — doctor, patient, and payor. Wellvana believes if patients knew how value-based care worked, they’d probably be asking for it. “If patients don’t win, it’s not value-based care,” says Wellvana CEO Kyle Wailes. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eqAdcVmd

Before Marty Bonick was ringing the opening bell on the NYSE, these words were ringing in his ears: “Always do the right thing.”   In our podcast, “You Can’t Do It Alone,” Marty shared about a mentor who left him pearls of wisdom that he now passes on.    He worked closely with Jim Harvey, the long-term CEO of Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His advice was always simple and often profound, like "always do the right thing."   “There are so many temptations these days to cut corners, to look for the easy way out, to make the quick buck. We’re working with people’s lives in healthcare, and there’s not always an easy solution…sometimes the right thing isn’t the easy thing,” Marty told us.   Listen to the full interview below. And congratulations to Marty for leading a successful IPO for Ardent Health.

Even if you’re not a primary care physician trying to decide by August 1 who to make a future with in value-based care, it’s helpful to understand what ACOs are.     Because they are the future.     🧑🦳 1 in 5 Medicare patients now served by an ACO  💵 $1.8 billion Medicare savings from ACOs in 2022, continuing a 6-year streak  🧑🏽⚕️ 700,000 providers participating in an ACO, with 63% receiving shared savings     CMS wants all Medicare patients in an ACO or another accountable care arrangement by 2030.     We’re rowing toward that collective goal every day — one physician at a time. https://lnkd.in/gzKa243s    

One more iron in the fire for Devin Carty — a healthcare leader who makes high-performance multitasking look easy.   As members of the Nashville Health Care Council, we fully support its work to connect, engage and promote our industry. Devin is a longtime advocate for NHCC. Congratulations to our co-founder and Board Chair for serving in this new role.   https://lnkd.in/e-jjkAf9

🤔 July is the month when primary care practices and health systems reevaluate their experience with value-based care. The deadline of August 1 to join an Accountable Care Organization puts one thing in perspective:    Accountable care is not something anyone can do alone.    This year, Wellvana partnered with the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) to author recommendations to advance (and simplify) policies related to accountable care.     “It’s been far too challenging for even the most sophisticated health systems to make the leap to value-based care,” says Kyle Wailes, Wellvana President and CEO. “Policymakers have an opportunity to bridge the divide so every patient can benefit from providers that are solely focused on keeping them well.”      We’re proud of our partners at AdventHealth who are thoughtfully investing in value-based care to transform a system of sick care into one focused on whole health and wellness.    “Until somebody cures all diseases, we’re going to still need hospitals,” AdventHealth President and CEO Terry Shaw says. “But the hospital should be the last whistlestop on the healthcare train, not the first.”    Read more from our joint report:    https://lnkd.in/eXc8UePx  

A patient in South Texas had run out of her anti-psychotic medication three weeks ago. She went to the ER because insurance denied her medication. She couldn’t get a refill.   The ER gave her one dose.   Wellvana’s Care Team received the discharge alert and sprung into action.     By this time, she said she was hearing voices again, and they were not telling her good things.   A Wellvana RN and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker figured out there was some confusion about this patient’s anti-depressant and her anti-psychotic — two very different medications.    Once the wires were uncrossed, the primary care practice pushed through the patient’s appeal. She was able to get back on her medication and thanked Wellvana. “Who knows what would have happened,” she said. The patient is now working closely with Christine Empeno, RN, who has been able to help this patient navigate other medication challenges as they pop up and keep her from an unnecessary hospitalization. Patients never pay for Wellvana’s discharge support. And our latest study found it’s reducing 30-day readmissions, increasing in-office follow ups and reducing per-patient medical costs by $1,100. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eHyxBPvD That’s value-based care at work.