April 22, 2016 – Tandigm Health, a value-based healthcare company supporting primary care physicians, today announced positive first-year results, validating the model of rewarding doctors for quality of care instead of quantity. The company saw notable progress on key measures and was able to pay meaningful incentives to the more than 380 participating primary care physicians for improving the health of the 100,000 patients they serve.
Tandigm’s model focuses on engaging, enabling and empowering its network of primary care physicians with the tools and resources needed to provide the highest quality care to their patients. In its first year, this additional support enabled Tandigm’s network to reduce emergency room visits by 800 and reduce total Medicare costs by 3 percent. These positive outcomes are the result of Tandigm doctors providing proactive, coordinated care to their patients. Although final results are not yet available, early marks for doctors in the Tandigm network show high performance across industry-standard quality measures, such as the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) STARS. Driving quality, proactive care allowed Tandigm to reduce care costs by $15 million last year.
“Tandigm is a positive disruptor in the movement toward value-based healthcare,” said Tandigm President and CEO Dr. Anthony Coletta. “We recognize that primary care physicians are uniquely positioned to influence the quality and cost of care because they serve as the first line of healthcare for most Americans. The current state of our healthcare system is unsustainable. We see our value-based model as a path forward to better health for our patients, stronger practices for our physicians, and effective ways to lower healthcare costs.”
Tandigm considers primary care physicians vital in addressing health problems early and helping patients avoid costly – and often unnecessary – emergency room visits or hospitalization. Tandigm, a joint venture between Independence Blue Cross and DaVita Healthcare Partners, provides doctors the tools and resources needed to deliver coordinated, proactive care and offers meaningful incentives to enhance patient care. As a result of the improved health outcomes across its patient population, Tandigm expects to pay the physicians in its network more than $20 million in meaningful incentives above their base compensation. Of the $20 million, $8 million provided month-to-month support of Tandigm physician practices for the care of their patients and $12 million was earned by the physicians as a result of delivering quality care.
Value-based care is a growing movement in the United States which focuses on rewarding physicians for the quality of their care, rather than the volume of services they provide. Tandigm has invested in innovative technology and resources, such as population management tools to identify those patients most in need, and nurses to help coordinate care right in physicians’ offices. These and other programs are enabling Tandigm’s doctors to actively improve access, engagement and health management for their patients through telephonic support, proactive outreach, increased availability and patient education.
“Early results from Tandigm are incredibly promising,” said Independence Blue Cross President and CEO Daniel J. Hilferty. “Independence is committed to leading change and innovation in healthcare, and making significant investments in programs which deliver superior, coordinated care and drive down costs. Just think of the potential impact if we expanded Tandigm Health’s primary care-centered model in our region – one of the most expensive healthcare markets in the United States.”
In its first year, the company has grown significantly. The patient population cared for by participating Tandigm physicians grew by 30,000 to a total of 100,000 patients. Tandigm expanded the number of participating physicians from 270 to 380, and increased the number of full-time employees from 27 to almost 90. Tandigm also announced in 2015 that it had formed collaborative partnerships with Holy Redeemer / Innovative Wellness Alliance and Doylestown Healthcare Partnership.
“Our commitment to Tandigm doctors from the start was to incentivize them for providing a high quality of care to patients,” said Kent Thiry, chairman and CEO of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. “In Tandigm’s first year, its primary care physicians exceeded expectations – delivering superior care through a more coordinated, effective and efficient healthcare process.”
About Tandigm Health
Tandigm Health is dedicated to enhancing primary care physicians’ ability to provide the finest possible care while lowering costs through a more coordinated, proactive model. By providing greater tools and resources to its network of over 380 doctors, Tandigm puts primary care physicians back at the center of patient care. Tandigm Health is a 50-50 joint venture between Independence Blue Cross, the leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania, and DaVita HealthCare Partners, a leading independent medical group in America. To learn more about Tandigm’s approach to value-based healthcare, visit www.tandigmhealth.com.
About DaVita HealthCare Partners
DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company, is the parent company of HealthCare Partners and DaVita Kidney Care. HealthCare Partners manages and operates medical groups and affiliated physician networks in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado in its pursuit to deliver excellent-quality healthcare in a dignified and compassionate manner. As of December 31, 2015 HealthCare Partners provided integrated care management for approximately 807,000 patients. DaVita Kidney Care is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. As of December 31, 2015, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,251 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 180,000 patients. The company also operated 118 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. For more information, please visit DaVitaHealthCarePartners.com.
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania. With our affiliates, we serve nearly 9 million people in 32 states and the District of Columbia, including 2.5 million in the region. For nearly 80 years, we have been enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced healthcare products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more, visit www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
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Matt Broscious
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mbroscious@briancom.com