The URAC Report

As the healthcare industry continues its efforts toward improved health outcomes, lower costs, and value-based reimbursement models, case managers have an opportunity to play an even more critical role, said Cheri Lattimer, RN, BSN, executive director of the National Transitions of Care Coalition. While this profession encompasses a number of important responsibilities in healthcare organizations, Lattimer points out three specific areas of growth in 2017 for case managers: patient engagement and education, transition planning, and role development.

Getting accredited or certified, whether it’s for a patient-centered medical home, clinically integrated network, pharmacy services, or healthcare management services, is a major commitment.  

A growing number of businesses are offering telehealth benefits as part of their employee medical packages. A key driver of the expansion of telehealth: the millennial workforce.

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prepares to award contracts for managing its Community Care Network in four regions nationwide, organizations should keep in mind the importance of delivering sustainable, local healthcare solutions.

The convenience of being able to speak to a physician via live videoconference is changing healthcare, but how do we maintain quality control and keep our personal data safe?

Announcement provides proprietary information to accelerate healthcare transformation

Washington, DC -- Independent accreditor URAC today made public its proprietary standards for the organization’s Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program. The announcement, which provides a complimentary download of the PCMH Certification standards, is part of an effort to help primary care practices nationwide implement best practices for providing value-based, quality medical services.

There’s a changing philosophy in health utilization management today, away from simply thinking of it as a cost-containment approach and more toward using it as a proactive tool to achieve the oft-repeated mantra of the right care for the right patient at the right time. Data and automation are increasingly being used to make that shift possible, while also putting greater power in providers’ hands to make medical decisions.

While the new administration has brought uncertainty to what the Affordable Care Act will look like in the coming year, industry experts believe that the healthcare transformation will continue.

Four experts shared their insights into trends, opportunities and challenges for the coming year for physicians and provider networks.