Anthem Blue Cross taps ApolloMed to provide hospitalist services in California
Anthem Blue Cross will offer hospitalist services to its Medi-Cal members in California's Los Angeles County through a new program with medical management services company ApolloMed.
Anthem is looking to leverage ApolloMed's presence in 24 acute care hospitals in the Los Angelese area as it looks to reduce costs by more effectively managing its members' in-hospital care. The program will serve adult Medi-Cal members, including those enrolled in the state's Seniors and People with Disabilities (SPD) program who select Anthem when the state's SPD program transitions to managed care in June 2011.
"Anthem understands that a hospitalization can be a worrisome experience for our members. We want to ensure that any time our members require hospitalization they have access to comprehensive healthcare and feel confident that they will have a successful discharge and a recovery," said Kevin Hayden, president of Anthem's state sponsored business. "Our agreement with ApolloMed will enhance the quality of care our members receive during their hospitalization to help improve health outcomes."
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Under the program, Anthem members will be seen by a physician several times a day during their hospital stay. This will help the physicians review members' progress and plan for a timely discharge with a transition plan that includes outpatient follow-up care and support services aimed at preventing a re-admission to the hospital.
"ApolloMed's goal is to manage members' hospitalizations and collaboratively plan for an effective transition to an outpatient setting," said Adrian Vazquez, MD, president and chairman of Apollo Medical Holdings. "ApolloMed believes that integrating and coordinating care across settings and between hospitalists and ambulatory care providers is the critical factor in achieving the balance between optimal length of stay and avoidable re-admissions."
With new emphasis under health reform on reducing hospital readmissions, hospitalists are expected to take on a growing roll in the inpatient setting in the coming years. According to research from the Journal of the American Medical Association, inpatient management by a hospitalist can reduce a hospital stay by as much as 30 percent while reducing costs from 13 percent to 20 percent.
Anthem's hospitalist agreement complements existing programs available to Anthem's Medi-Cal members such as the DailyMed Pharmacy Program, 24-hour physician on-call program and 24-hour care management and case management program.
ApolloMed intends to add new hospitals in the region and additional post-discharge outpatient clinics in an effort to ensure that members have access to physician follow-up care until their medical provider is available to resume the management of their care.
