Message from the Medical Director

Paul Buehrens, MD,
EHP Medical Director

The word is out about EvergreenHealth Partners, the first Clinical Integration Network in Washington – and there's been a lot of interest in learning more about this groundbreaking clinical partnership for our area.  Since we went public with our announcement in May, the EHP story has been carried in the Puget Sound Business Journal and by several local news organizations, as well as being nationally featured on the Dorland Health website.  I've also been invited to present on EHP and the path to clinical integration at the Washington Medical Commission's conference in October.

Spotlight: EHP OB/GYN Practices

EvergreenHealth Partners is fortunate to have 40 dedicated OB/GYN providers participating in our network from nine practices around the community. The majority handle both OB and GYN care, while five providers specialize in GYN care only. Those practices include:

Contracts Update

First Choice / EvergreenHealth Contract:  this contract covers EvergreenHealth’s employees and dependents (approx. 6,600 lives) and has been in effect since January 1. EHP providers are now covered at the same benefit level as EvergreenHealth employed providers.

Quality Initiative Changes

We hear you!  Thanks to your feedback, we’ve paired down the number of measures to relieve some of the burden on your clinics.

PQRS 46 – Everybody 

This is the quality measure that generated the most calls from clinics asking how to do it...so we’ve decided to remove it for this year.  Once  we have population healthcare software, it will be easier to enable medication reconciliation.

Timetable & Deadlines for Data

Here is a reminder of the EHP deadlines for establishing the data flow from your clinic to EHP:

By Aug. 1, you should have:

• All providers trained on using CPTII/HCPCS codes
• All providers have begun submitting CPTII/HCPCS codes on claims
• Participating provider is regularly reviewing quality data in the Dimensional Insight (DI) dashboard, or administrative personnel are reviewing and notifying provider of necessary follow-up.

Welcome to Our New Care Coordinator

Debi Jefferson

As part of our contract with Cigna, EHP needs to have a care coordinator to help identify patients who have the potential to become “high risk” due to uncontrolled chronic illness. 

The benefits of care coordination include:

• Improved patient outcomes
• Clinical initiatives and care gaps addressed
• Coordination and communication of care with payers
• Meeting payer quality initiatives and financial incentive goals

2014 Top Doctors Announced

Congratulations to the 93 EHP providers who've been recognized as 2014 Top Docs by area magazines. Twenty-two were selected by Seattle Magazine ("Sea") and 92 by Seattle Met ("SMet"). Twenty-one were recognized by both.

EHP in the News

Dorlandhealth.com reports on the creation of EHP. 

Read more >

Joint news release announcing the EHP/Cigna contract 

Read more >

US News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals”
US News & World Report names EvergreenHealth Medical Center the #2 best hospital in the entire Seattle metropolitan region, and the #3 best hospital in Washington state in the 2014-15 edition of its "Best Hospitals" rankings. 

Update on the “Share Your Appreciation” Campaign

Over the past several months, you may have noticed promotions online and in practices encouraging patients to share online reviews of their providers. We embarked on this project to celebrate EvergreenHealth physicians and to provide an important resource for the community. Today we want to provide an update on the campaign.

Have Your Completed Your Online Profile Questionnaire?

EvergreenHealth has been working on a project to improve the information in the provider profiles on the EvergreenHealth website, where prospective patients are most likely to search for providers. We want to make sure our profiles take advantage of best practice and make it easy for prospective patients to find an EvergreenHealth provider for their care. We are extending this initiative to update the profiles to all EHP participants.

Message from the Director

Paul Buehrens, MD,
EHP Medical Director

EvergreenHealth Partners is blazing a new trail for healthcare in Washington state. As the state’s first clinical integration network, EHP is a flexible vehicle poised to support physician directed, patient-centered care for the future – regardless of the financial models being used by payers as we enter a new organizational paradigm for healthcare in the USA.  

Contracting Update

First Choice / EvergreenHealth Contract:  this contract covers EvergreenHealth's employees and dependents (5,500 lives). EvergreenHealth's coverage plan has been expanded so EHP providers are now covered at the same level as EvergreenHealth-employed providers, increasing employee options from 180 to 446 providers.

Spotlight: EHP Primary Care

The backbone of any successful medical system is its primary care providers. In addition to providing preventive care and managing chronic conditions, they are often the first to learn of new symptoms and diagnose emerging conditions that may need referral to specialists. 

EvergreenHealth Partners is fortunate to have 100 dedicated primary care providers participating in our network from 20 practices around the community. Those practices include:

Marketing Tip: Improving Your Online Profiles

Yesterday’s word-of-mouth recommendations are being replaced by today’s online searches. It doesn’t matter if people are looking for a vacation rental, a new restaurant or a healthcare provider – chances are very good that they’ll consult Bing or Google to help them find what they’re looking for. That’s why it’s very important that your online profiles are up-to-date and show you at your best.

Your three most important profiles (because they typically come up highest in searches) are the ones on your practice’s website, on the EvergreenHealth website and at healthgrades.com. 

Consistent data flow needed to sustain contracts

With our successful membership campaign concluded, our focus is now on establishing the consistent flow of data needed to sustain our contracts and prove the quality and value of care from EHP.  

Our technical team is tracking each EHP member practice’s data flow in four key areas: 

1. Data feed established; at least one claim received
2. Received at least 1 CPTII/HCPCS code in a claim
3. Received claims in May
4. Received CPTII/HCPCS codes in May