Dive Brief:
- Intermountain Healthcare is forming a company with the aim of consulting with payers and other providers to elevate value-based care payment reforms, the health system said Tuesday.
- The platform, called Castell, will be led by Rajesh Shrestha, Intermountain vice president and chief operating officer of community based care. Shrestha worked on value-based care at Cigna's CareAllies.
- Intermountain said the new company will build on lessons learned from its primary care model, which it says led to reduced hospital admissions and costs along with improved patient ratings and physician satisfaction.
Dive Insight:
The Salt Lake City-based integrated health system has pushed a number of initiatives aimed at disrupting healthcare delivery and reflecting the trend of paying for quality and value over quantity of services.
The system is at the helm of Civica Rx, which opened its headquarters nearby in April. The provider-led nonprofit drug company is seeking to improve access to generic medications, lower costs and alleviate drug shortages for hospitals.
Systems like Intermountain are getting a push toward value-based care from CMS, which recently has announced a number of payment models that move away from fee-for-service. That includes a package of models for primary care providers, a program for emergency medical transportation alternatives and a recently announced set of five options for kidney care.
Shrestha said Castell will leverage Intermountain's tool and resources to aid payers, providers and accountable care organizations through analytical tools and digital resources addressing virtual care, patient experience and social determinants of health.
"Healthcare's ongoing shift from volume to value-based systems of care enables providers, health systems, and payers to take a more holistic approach to managing the health of their patients, but also creates more financial risk or rewards," he said in a statement.
Intermountain has also upped investment in home healthcare, announcing an update to its program for complex and chronically ill patients in March. That service builds on the "virtual hospital" the system launched last year. It has also focused on populaiton health, including a $12 million investment aimed at improving food and housing insecurity.