HC4HR

The story we are about to tell you is probably not what automatically comes to mind when you hear "safety-net hospital."

On Monday, we continued our series of posts on the Health CEOs for Health Reform by looking at how more integrated models of care can deliver higher quality at lower costs.

Today, we'll see how Denver Health -- an urban safety net institution for Denver and the Rocky Mountain Region -- has established a highly integrated system that consistently delivers high-value care to vulnerable population. Health IT and electronic medical records are key to their success, as Patricia Gabow, MD, Denver Health's CEO explains in the video below:

Today, we continue our series of posts on the Health CEOs for Health Reform -- a New America Foundation coalition of industry CEOs and physicians committed to improving our health system.

Gary S. Kaplan, MD is the Chairman and CEO of the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. With Dr. Kaplan's leadership and the implementation of the Virginia Mason Production System, Virginia Mason has become one of the top-rated hospitals in the United States. To see Virginia Mason in action, check out the video below:

Virginia Mason Production System

There's a scene in the 1996 movie Independence Day where Harvey Fierstein (right), trapped in traffic trying to escape the shadow of an ominous alien ship, calls his doctor's office. Informed that Dr. Katz is not available, Fierstein screams "For $300 an hour, you can put me through to his house in the Hamptons!"

Had Fierstein been a patient with access to Group Health Cooperative's medical homes, his doctor could have called him, reminded him to take his blood pressure medication and scheduled a date for a follow-up visit.

On Wednesday, we began a series of blog posts that will highlight the innovative work being done by members of Health CEOs for Health Reform -- a New America Foundation coalition of industry CEOs and physicians committed to improving our health system.

Today, we'll examine the innovations in primary care made by the Group Health Cooperative -- a consumer-governed, integrated health care system covering over 600,000 individuals and delivering care in one of the largest integrated group practices in the Pacific Northwest. In the video below, Group Health president and CEO, Scott Armstrong, MBA, explains why his organization decided to adopt a medical home model for primary care, how they restructured their system, and the impressive results that followed.

Recently, Health CEOs for Health Reform -- a New America Foundation coalition of industry CEOs and physicians committed to improving our health system -- held a briefing on Capitol Hill (video here, summary here) to release its recommendations for transforming health care in the U.S.

In the video above, Nicholas Wolter, MD, the CEO of the Billings Clinic provides an insightful overview of the bold changes proposed in the white paper, Realigning U.S. Health Care Incentives to Better Serve Patients and Taxpayers -- from ending fee-for-service medicine to matching payment models with best practices.

In the coming days, we'll be posting more highlights from the event and examining in detail some of the innovative work that's already going on. Real world examples from payers, providers, and pharmaceutical companies illustrate that reform isn't just possible, it's happening. The results are real and their potential impact is huge for health care as whole. In particular, we'll elaborate on the following:

After sharing their stories with Congress at our recent event, the Health CEOs for Health Reform traveled down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House to spread the word about the achievability of health system reform.

With the debate over how to credibly finance health reform taking center stage, Health CEOs for Health Reform released Realigning U.S. Health Care Incentives to Better Serve Patients and Taxpayers at an event on Capitol Hill last Friday.

The detailed recommendations emphasize a need to refocus health care delivery on the patient and move away from fee-for-service medicine. Most notably, Health CEOs for Health Reform recommend that providers be held accountable to reasonable cost and quality standards at a specified date, guaranteeing that health reform will slow the rate of Medicare cost growth. Health CEOs for Health Reform make clear that significant savings and a more sustainable health system are eminently feasible. We have to look no further than our own backyards to prove it is possible.

The event also featured remarks from the Director of the White House Office of Health Reform, Nancy-Ann DeParle, who commended the group for it's courage and innovation tackling these issues. Below are some highlights from the event. Complete video coverage of the event is also available.

We had our well-attended event on Health CEOs for Health Care Reform Friday. We'll post a video summary and more details soon, but we have one point we want to make right now:

Today was a light blogging day for the New Health Dialogue. This afternoon, we were at the Capitol Vsitors Center for an event, Health CEOs for Health Reform: Making Quality Healthcare Affordable for All.

I am heartened to see health reform on the move. Today, Health CEOs for Health Reform will explain exactly why and how we can and should expect health care leaders to work together to make Americans healthier, while bending the health care cost growth curve.

In a lead up to the release of the White House Council of Economic Adviser’s report on the economic case for health reform, the Committee for Economic Development co-hosted an excellent policy forum on The Business Case for National Health Care Reform with the Rocky Mountain PBS

Patricia Gabow, MD, the CEO and Medical Director of Denver Health—the principal safety-net provider for the Denver metropolitan area—described the organization's experience building an integrated model of care (see chart after the break) to serve the region’s most vulnerable populations.

Gabow a founding member of Health CEOs for Health Reform will in Washington D.C. next Friday, June 12 to discuss a package of transformative, patient-centered reforms that prove a more sustainable, value-based health system for all is achievable.