Anthem, Providence tap Vim for value-based care platform deployment

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Anthem Blue Cross and Providence St. Joseph Health System are building out their value-based care program through a new partnership with Vim, the maker of a tech platform that connects payers and providers.

Vim's platform integrates into hospitals' existing electronic health records to give providers access to workflow applications while offering insurers insights into the point of care. It includes digital scheduling, referral guidance, benefits navigation and care gaps identification.

Vim will deploy across Providence hospitals in Southern California.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Value-based care has been on the horizon for a number of years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate at which healthcare organizations adopt the technologies needed to execute these programs.

Tech-enabled tools such as telehealth, remote monitoring, data analytics and artificial intelligence are becoming key investment areas for hospitals to participate in value-based programs.

Large multi-state health systems like Providence and smaller rural systems alike are putting their money into technology advancements that can improve their care quality.

"Our wide and diverse network of providers share a commitment to quality and affordability, and Anthem's program is a natural fit in our continued journey towards value," Prub Khurana, CEO and chief strategy officer at Providence, said by statement. "Anthem and Vim's technology will allow us to provide sophisticated referral optimization capabilities to providers across our network to succeed by meaningfully moving the needle on quality and cost at scale."

THE LARGER TREND

In November 2020, Anthem Blue Cross announced that Providence Southern California had agreed to join its Vivity Health Plan as a joint-venture partner. This marked a first-in-the-nation joint venture between a health plan and like-minded health systems aligned to enhance the health of members and utilizes a provider reimbursement structure to include shared savings from community risk pools, the companies said.

Investing in technology has been a major part of Providence's strategy to stay afloat during the pandemic.

Last fall, the health system reported $214 million in operating losses for the first nine months of 2020 due to the increased costs associated with COVID-19.

In response, the health system began utilizing data analytics to predict outbreaks and flex its staff. It also upped its patient engagement methods with Twistle's return-on-investment calculator and built a new telehealth infrastructure.

Outside of its technology investments, Providence's President and CEO Rod Hochman stepped into the role of chairman for the American Hospital Association's Board of Trustees this year.

ON THE RECORD

"As the urgency increases for quality and cost performance in healthcare, Anthem is committed to supporting our provider partners with innovative enablement technology," John Pickett, regional vice president of Provider Solutions at Anthem, said in a statement. "PSJHS is an ideal provider to show what is possible with the right data, technology and payer collaboration. We know our members will benefit from better care thanks to the work we are doing together."

"We're honored to provide the enabling point-of-care technology platform for Anthem and their provider partners," Oron Afek, CEO and c-founder of Vim, said in statement. "We believe scalable technology connections are a critical part of successful payer-provider collaboration, and we're thrilled to be partnering with such dedicated organizations to improve healthcare performance in California."

Twitter: @HackettMallory
Email the writer: mhackett@himss.org