The URAC Report

Achieving URAC’s Clinical Integration Accreditation has resulted in many unexpected efficiencies and improvements for St. Vincent’s Health Partners (SVHP). But not just clinically.

WASHINGTON, DC – June 27, 2017 – URAC Director of Government Relations Aaron Turner-Phifer discussed key points of the healthcare reform legislation now under consideration in the Senate during a 20-minute appearance on News 4 Your Sunday, which aired June 25 on the Washington, D.C.-based NBC4. Viewers can watch the entire 20-minute interview below.

The U.S. specialty pharmacy industry is growing. Much of that growth can be attributed to healthcare provider-owned pharmacies. This infographic provides a snapshot of some key statistics on the specialty pharmacy industry trend in hospital systems.

CMS continues to ease administrative burdens for physicians as the “slow ramp-up” of the Quality Payment Program continues in 2018, according to the agency’s proposed rule for MACRA’s 2018 Quality Payment Program.

Accountable care may still be a relatively new model in some areas, but the numbers of ACOs are steadily increasing. There were approximately 660 ACOs in the U.S. in 2015. The number increased to 838 last year. Success, however, can be elusive.

The drive toward value-based care is requiring the healthcare industry to make a 180-degree turn from where we were just a few years ago. We’re moving away from a system focused on treating sickness to one that strives for wellness; from encouraging volume to demanding value; from filling beds to penalizing readmissions; and finally, from a system centered on the provider to one that rightfully revolves around the patient.

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.

The American healthcare system is in a state of uncertainty. And it is failing patients. 

At least that’s the assessment I’ve frequently come across over the past few weeks. Roiling politics and the resulting policies seem to be the root of this uncertainty. Be it the changes ushered in by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or the looming changes brought by the election of Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, it seems that healthcare will be in a state of flux and disarray for the foreseeable future.