VHA, a nationwide healthcare network of 1,400 not-for-profit healthcare organizations that work to boost clinical performance while reducing costs, has cut a deal with Phytel to help its members tackle population management.

VHA officials say Phytel’s technology combined with VHA IMPERATIV, a suite of advisory services, will help hospitals establish new value-based care delivery models by providing hospitals with patient engagement, care coordination, care transitions and quality performance measurement across the continuum of care.

Steve Miff, senior vice president, VHA’s clinical and care delivery solutions, says VHA identified a need among its members for tangible solutions in how they can best engage patients in their care, as the providers start to change their care delivery approaches towards more managing health than managing disease.

“The goal is to give providers the information they need to manage their patients better and the organizations the tools to really culturally change the organization to be able to thrive in this new model,” he said.

[See also: Premier steps up on population health.]

"What we really liked about Phytel is they have a well-regarded and established technology solution that automates this information for an organization," Miff told Healthcare IT News. "What we bring is expertise and the knowhow. And, that’s a winning combination."

“Hospitals and health systems that want to improve the health of populations, enhance the patient experience and lower costs need to transform their clinical and operational data into actionable information that care teams can easily use within their workflows,” said Steve Schelhammer, CEO of Phytel, in a news release. “Phytel and VHA have brought together the technology and expertise in care coordination, patient engagement and population health management that providers require to cost-effectively improve the health of their patients and the patient experience.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that as many as 270 ACOs will participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program through 2015. However, according to the HFMA's 2011 Value Project State Survey, many health systems lack experience designing and implementing population health management initiatives.

That's not the case with VHA member Orlando Health, which recently began to implement Phytel components.

“We have a pretty aggressive population health management strategy, and we became a CMS ACO on January 1," said Ben Shaker, Orlando Health's director of clinical integration.

He said the modules of the Phytel suite installed so far have received great feedback from providers and staff. The first component to roll out, he said, was the automated remind tool, which notifies patients of their appointments. In addition, Orlando Health is also using the module that identifies gaps in patient care.

“We really needed a platform by which we could manage our population, not only for segments of our population for part of the contracts that we're in. Our real goal here is to manage the entire population. We hope, as we further refine our processes and we build out our infrastructure around care coordination, we see Phytel as being a vital tool to enable us to really achieve our objective of effectively, efficiently managing the care of our patients."

“To effectively manage risk, organizations must first understand what it really means and how it impacts their people, processes and systems,” Sherrie Sitarik, CEO of Orlando Health, said in a statement. “You have to engage physicians and staff before you can expect to engage patients in more actively managing their health. Approaching both aspects comprehensively, with equal attention on the technology systems and the human systems, is essential for transitioning to a pay-for-performance environment and positioning yourself for long-term success.”

Practice care teams will be trained to use the Phytel technology suite. Officials say VHA’s advisory services will help providers improve communications and workflow, enhance clinical coordination efforts and overall patient care service.