MDNews - Greater Boston

special feature Pinnacle Health Empowering Patients and Rewarding Cost-Efficient Care P Smart Card Technology Allows Caregivers to Share Medical Information While Rewarding Patients for Choosing Preferred Providers By Chris Cheney 6 | Greater Boston MD News ■ mdnEwS.COm helping patients and health care providers make the right choices as change sweeps through the U.S. medical system. "We have both sides of the equation," says Paul Brough, President and CEO of Pinnacle Health, which pairs thousands of patients with hundreds of health care providers, such as New England Baptist Hospital and Shields Health Care Group. With the Affordable Care Act driving providers to maintain quality care while cutting health care expenses, Brough feels it is important to connect patients with caregivers who deliver high-quality service efficiently and at a competitive cost. And by offering an incentive program that rewards patients for choosing certain providers, he can direct them to cost-efficient providers in the area. "The United States has a system that's out of control," he says of the upward spiral in health care costs. "We far outstrip any other country in the world in naClE H E altH iS in terms of health care cost." Pinnacle Health connects patients with its pool of Preferred Providers, a program launched in 2006 to recruit caregivers who are committed to maintaining high-quality care at cost-effective rates. "The push is toward consumer-driven heath care," Brough explains. "In the new health care landscape, it's the patients who take charge and decide where they want to go for treatment. A number of changes are taking place throughout the country as the new federal health care legislation takes hold. The patient will become the focus, rather than the insurance companies, hospitals and physicians, and with that focus shift will come a power shift. "The new world will mean that providers have to earn the business and respect of their patients, in much the same way other industry sectors have to earn their customer bases. The patient will eventually decide where the true value lies as we transform from a complex and

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