AMGA MEMBERS BEGIN CMS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO USE TECHNOLOGY
FOR CHRONIC CARE IMPROVEMENT
Health Buddy Program Uses Home Health Monitoring Technology to
Focus on Preventive Care for Patients
ALEXANDRIA, VA – February 1, 2006 – Medical group members of the
American Medical Group Association (AMGA) today begin enrollment for a new
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demonstration project. The
innovative Health Buddy Program is a physician-led model of care that uses home
health monitoring technology for patients who are struggling with severe chronic
illness-allowing them to live, healthier, happier, longer lives and reduce
Medicare spending by preventing hospitalizations.
Announced in July 2005, CMS awarded the project to several
organizations including a consortium led by AMGA, Health Hero Network,
Bend Memorial Clinic, Oregon, and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center,
Washington. The medical groups will implement this preventive care
management program for up to 1,600 total Medicare beneficiaries with
congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or
diabetes.
“The Health Buddy Program will demonstrate that patients can receive
excellent care from their physicians when supported by comprehensive
care management combined with information technology,” said Donald W.
Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, AMGA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We
look forward to our member groups pioneering a new model of care that is
continuous, proactive, effective, and based on an existing relationship
between the patients and their physicians.”
CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., stated, “The Care
Management for High Cost Beneficiaries Demonstration project is designed
to test different models of care to streamline what is often a
fragmented health care delivery system. The launch of the Health Buddy
Program is a significant step in investigating how telehealth technology
can provide the best possible prevention-oriented care, improve the
quality of life and reduce health care costs for our high-cost Medicare
patients.”
The key technology component of the Health Buddy Program (formerly
known as ACCENT) is the Health Buddy system from Health Hero Network.
Patients will use the Health Buddy appliance in their homes to receive a
daily dialogue, which includes questions about the patient’s condition
and vital signs, as well as coaching and information about preventive
behaviors that will keep them healthy. The patient answers by simply
pressing a button on the appliance. The doctors and care managers at the
groups receive the patient’s answers and vital signs through a secure
Web site and are able to spot problems and intervene early, before
patients get so sick that they need to go to the emergency room or be
hospitalized.
The Health Buddy Program at the medical groups begins today and is
slated to last three years. Selected Medicare patients already under the
care of each group will be invited to join the program. Project
coordinators and care managers will then enroll and manage the patients
with the active cooperation of medical group physicians.
About Health Hero Network
Health Hero Network develops and markets the Health Buddy® system for
health improvement. The Health Buddy system serves as the interface
between patients at home and care providers, facilitating patient
education and monitoring of chronic conditions. The system includes
monitoring technologies, clinical information databases,
Internet-enabled decision support tools, health management programs and
content development tools. Through increased communication, behavior
modification, and prevention, the Health Buddy system improves the
quality of care. Based in Redwood City, California, Health Hero
Network's systems are protected by over 55 issued US patents.
http://www.healthhero.com.
About American Medical Group Association
The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents medical
groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious
integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the
multispecialty medical group model of healthcare delivery and for the
patients served by medical groups through innovation and information
sharing, benchmarking, leadership development, and continuous striving
to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver health care to more
than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 million capitated
lives. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic
partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of
benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking
programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and
operations assistance. For more information, visit
AMGA's Web Site. Contact: Julie Sanderson-Austin, R.N., Vice
President, Quality Management and Research, (703) 838-0033, ext 356,
jsanderson-austin@amga.org.
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