The president and CEO of Genuine Health Group, Joe Caruncho, spoke with Keith Loria of Medical Economics about Genuine Health At Home, the company’s innovative value-based care program aimed at improving health outcomes for Medicare patients with chronic conditions and those transitioning from inpatient treatment to a home environment.
Caruncho, who oversees all the company’s business lines, including its Miami ACO and its MSO, explains how Genuine Health “deputized” 150-plus primary care providers as ambassadors for the program. In the article he also discusses the program’s emphasis on medication adherence, post-discharge follow-up, and patient engagement to help reduce hospital readmission rates.
Take a look at the except below, or click here to read the entire article.
Genuine Health Group, a Miami-based healthcare company that represents more than 150 primary care providers, has implemented the Genuine Health at Home program to improve medication adherence and better compliance with post-discharge instructions.
The program serves two patient populations: 1) those transitioning home from the hospital and 2) those with chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure.
“In a nutshell, the program delivers care in the patient’s home by a range of allied professionals and physicians to improve outcomes and decrease hospital admissions or readmissions,” says Joe Caruncho, Genuine Health’s CEO, who developed the program and “deputized” the company’s 150-plus PCPs as ambassadors and advocates and incentivized them to make sure their patients participate in the program.
A recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine demonstrated that home-based care can not only be cost-effective, but is dramatically more affordable than inpatient care. Study results showed that costs and utilization were significantly less for the patients who received care at home compared to those who received care in a traditional hospital environment.
“Research has confirmed what doctors already knew: patients who actively participate in their care have better health than those who are not engaged,” Caruncho says. “So in today’s era where quality measures determine everything from reputation to compensation, we have to embrace every tool in our toolbox that improves outcomes. Patient engagement is one of those tools.”
Click here to read the entire article about the Miami Accountable Care Organization and its physician ACO on Medical Economics.