IT key to Medicare pilot programs for chronically ill

IT key to Medicare pilot programs for chronically ill: "IT key to Medicare pilot programs for chronically ill
Source: Healthcare IT News / Author: Fred Bazzoli, Senior editor
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WASHINGTON Pilot programs in eight regions that will involve 160,000 Medicare beneficiaries in health support programs will rely heavily on healthcare information technology.
The Medicare Health Support initiative will be tested for about two years to see if beneficiaries� care and satisfaction can be improved while saving Medicare money. If so, it could be expanded at the direction of the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Organizations running the pilot programs will make use of clinical decision support software that will rely on information garnered from claims information and other sources, a CMS official said. That software will rely strongly on evidence-based medicine to give physicians and patients the best direction in providing care.
The pilot programs are looking for beneficiaries who have congestive heart failure or diabetes. Both diseases, when not carefully managed, can result in high-cost emergency or acute care interventions.
For example, about 14 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have congestive heart failure among their chronic conditions, and these beneficiaries account for 43 percent of Medicare spending. About 18 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have diabetes, and they account for 32 percent of Medicare spending. "