In Brief: Cleveland Clinic, CHS Enter Into Alliance; Minnesota Medical Societies Receive ABIM Grants
Cleveland Clinic, CHS Enter Into Alliance
For-profit national hospital operator Community Health Systems has entered into a five-year strategic alliance with the non-profit Cleveland Clinic.
CHS said it would work with the Cleveland Clinic on improving quality while lowering costs. The company, which is based in Franklin, Tenn., operates Northwest Medical Center and Oro Valley Hospital in the Cleveland area.
However, the deal would be between the Cleveland Clinic, renown for its research and quality of care, and CHS' entire 135-hospital system. The former will share its clinical expertise, while CHS would provide operational advice.
“As we face an unprecedented transformation in healthcare, we need to adapt and embrace change. This new relationship is reflective of Cleveland Clinic’s culture of collaboration and desire to exchange knowledge,” said Toby M. Cosgrove, M.D., the Cleveland Clinic's chief executive officer. “As healthcare reform moves forward, we remain focused and committed to providing the highest quality, value and efficiency of care to patients locally and nationally. Our collaboration with Community Health Systems advances these efforts.”
Although CHS will pay the Cleveland Clinic for some of the services it will provide, both sides will maintain their separate operational identities, officials said.
Minnesota Medical Societies Receive ABIM Grants
Twenty-one medical societies or similar organizations in Minnesota have received grants from the ABIM Foundation to try and reduce the volume of unnecessary testing.
The ABIM started a campaign last year known as “Choosing Wisely,” that would encourage both providers and patients to reduce medical tests that add onto healthcare costs while providing little relevant data. The grants in Minnesota are being funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Recipients of the grants in Minnesota include the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement and the Minnesota Health Action Group.
“Both organizations come from a common ground where information is the key to making wise health care decisions,” said Carolyn Pare, chief executive officer of the Minnesota Health Action Group. “I'm confident that, together, our organizations can engage not only patients and providers, but also employers who purchase health care coverage on behalf of their employees and have a vested interest in making sure their employees understand that more health care is not always better, and in some cases may even be harmful.”
Michigan Blues Join Health Information Exchange
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has joined the state's primary exchange for the electronic sharing of health information.
The Michigan Blues will provide data through the Michigan Health Information Network Shared Services, officials said earlier this week.
“BCBSM's leadership as the first health plan to become a qualified data sharing organization (QO) demonstrates their commitment to improving the quality of care for their members. BCBSM is helping pioneer the next phase of health information exchange in Michigan,” said MiHIN Executive Director Tim Pletcher. “With the inclusion of health plans in Michigan's statewide network, the opportunities for better care coordination rapidly accelerate.”
The statewide exchange's participants include the State of Michigan's Department of Community Health, the South East Michigan Beacon Community and, six substate health information exchanges.
