1st Edition

Clinical Co-Management A Bridge to Clinical Integration and Pathway to Bundled Payments

By Cherilyn G. Murer, JD, CRA Copyright 2016
    148 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    A decade ago, UK HealthCare recognized the need to reposition itself as a regional referral center, focusing on advanced subspecialty care for the entire state of Kentucky. The goal was to become a "medical destination" for patients from that region who needed access to specialized care.

    To support that goal, UK HealthCare established a virtual network of partnering provider organizations throughout Kentucky. By working together, UK HealthCare and its partners provide all Kentuckians access to the appropriate levels of care as close to home as possible.

    Clinical Co-Management: A Bridge to Clinical Integration and Pathway to Bundled Payments supplies a detailed view of the Clinical Co-Management Agreement (CCMA) framework. It describes how the successful implementation of CCMAs can pave the way to coordinated efforts by hospital administration and physicians to reduce cost, increase quality, and improve patient satisfaction.

    Detailing why CCMAs present a viable alternative to conventional hospital-physician alignment models, such as medical directorships, committee chairs, and physician employment, the book presents an insider's view of the working models for clinical co-management programs.

    Complete with a detailed explanation of the self-referral statute (Stark Law) and the Anti-Kickback Statute, this book provides physicians, hospital executives, healthcare attorneys, and industry experts with a trustworthy reference they can refer to prior to and during CCMA negotiations, implementation, and oversight.

    Includes a Foreword by Mark D. Birdwhistell, Vice-President for Administration and External Affairs, UK HealthCare

    Defining Clinical Co-Management and Its Impact on Effective and Efficient Healthcare Delivery
    Why Clinical Co-Management?
    Clinical Co-Management Is the Strategic and Regulatory Mechanism That Can Serve as the Catalyst in Truly Integrating a Healthcare System
    The Problem, Again, Is Alignment
    What Is Clinical Co-Management?
    Failure Lies in a Silo Perspective
    Benefits of Clinical Co-Management
    CCMA Development Process
    Barriers to Successful Implementation
    What to Expect?
    References

    Clinical Co-Management in Historical Perspective
    Introduction
    Medicare’s Inception and the Prospective Payment System
    Watershed Year One: 1965
    Watershed Year Two: 1983

    On the Road to Managed Care
    Watershed Year Three: 1997
    Going Forward: Opportunities and Barriers
    Watershed Year Four: 2010
    References

    Clinical Co-Management as the Bridge Toward
    Bundled Care
    Push from Fee-for-Service toward Bundling
    Difficulties of Bundled Care: Lessons from Previous Bundling Attempts
    Clinical Co-Management as the Precursor to Bundling
    References

    CCMA: A Physician’s Perspective
    Sasha M. Demos
    Preface
    Physician’s Introduction
    Preoperative Care
    Intraoperative Care
    Postoperative Care
    Clinical Co-Management as the Solution to Implementation
    References

    Regulatory Compliance
    Legal Considerations
    Stark Law
    Anti-Kickback Statute
    CMP Law

    Policy Concerns Underlying Fraud and Abuse Laws

    Implementation
    Determine the Scope
    Legal Structure of the CCMA
    Administrative Structure
    Compensation Structure
    Base Compensation
    Incentive Compensation

    Metrics and Data
    Third-Party Valuation
    Ongoing Performance Measure Development
    Conclusions

    Clinical Co-Management Case Study
    Introduction
    Case Study: Urban-Based Tertiary Medical System

    Conclusion and Next Steps
    The Conclusion Is That There Is No Conclusion
    The Value Is in the Process
    The Perils of Clinical Co-Management Valuation

    Index

    Biography

    Cherilyn G. Murer, JD, CRA, founder, president, and CEO of Murer Consultants, Mokena, Illinois, has long been an active voice in the advancement of quality, cost-effective healthcare. Ms. Murer received a Juris Doctor degree with honors from Northern Illinois University and has coupled her background in law with her previous operational experience as the director of Rehabilitation Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Murer is a sought-after lecturer and educator whose focus is on assisting her clients in navigating through the complex regulatory, strategic, and financial issues facing healthcare today. With a national client base, Murer Consultants represents large multi-hospital healthcare systems, academic medical centers, and large physician group practices focusing on strategic positioning, consolidation and acquisition, regulatory compliance, and financial management.

    In her role as president and CEO of Murer Consultants, Ms. Murer has been instrumental in the development and implementation of Clinical Co-Management as a tool to align stakeholders’ interests in the healthcare field. She has shown time and again the value of Clinical Co-Management nationwide in settings ranging from academic medical centers to large hospital systems. As a recognized innovator in payment delivery mechanisms, Ms. Murer has demonstrated the viability of Clinical Co-Management as a delivery system moving forward with health reform.

    "Cherilyn Murer and her team of experts introduced UK HealthCare to the Clinical Co-Management Agreement (CCMA), a tool that has been an excellent way for UK HealthCare to engage with its partnering organizations. A CCMA gives physicians and administrators a voice and process for aligning their respective interests and expertise through a system of protocols, outcome targets, and quality metrics."
    —Mark D. Birdwhistell, Vice-President for Administration and External Affairs, UK HealthCare, Lexington, Kentucky; Former Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

    "One of the assets of a CCMA is as a mechanism to validate data. The CCMA process provides a vehicle through which an organization is able to generate verifiable and vetted data that will enable the hospital to improve services, and with Cherilyn Murer and the Murer group guiding this process, my organization has seen significant benefit."
    —Rick Wagers, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Regional One Health

    "When it comes to navigating clients in today’s healthcare environment through the compliance, legal, and financial complexities of implementing clinical co-management agreements, you’re talking about only a handful of people who can accomplish that so successfully as Cherilyn G. Murer."
    —Dr. Michael Karpf, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, UK HealthCare

    "Cherilyn has forgotten more about clinical co-management than most health care lawyers will ever know."
    —William E. Thro, General Counsel, University of Kentucky