A shot of Malt in a Tumblr

Health & Social Technologist. Chief Instigator & Co-Founder HealthCamp Foundation.
January 29

Curing US HealthCare… Coding reform and payment reform go hand in hand

This week I took part in the Care Innovations Summit in Washington DC. On Wednesday I was at the Kaiser Permanente Center For Total Health for a pre-Summit networking day. It was great to work with Danielle Cass and Ted Eytan from Kaiser to facilitate a day long event that I heard people describe as “The Best Networking Day. Ever”
The day was a mix of networking exercises, fireside chats with people that are shaping the future of health care and panel discussions that really made people think. If you get chance to spend time with Jack Cochran, MD, Executive Director, The Permanente Federation, Kaiser Permanente grab the opportunity. He has a life history that would make a great movie and his views on the future of health care and how to improve health are worth listening to and he takes his energy and relentlessly applies it to achieving that aim of better care. 

Joe Smith, MD, PhD, Chief Medical and Science Officer, The West Wireless Health Institute is equally vocal about improving our health care system. While Joe didn’t get on stage at the Summit itself, he was one various panel discussions at the pre-summit. You really need to listen to his ideas. West Wireless Health Institute is doing great things to promote new approaches to health care. Joe is one of the people shaping the future. 
The themes that kept surfacing at the pre-networking event where two fold: Coding Reform and Payment reform. The two need to go hand in hand. As the industry is about to go through a transition that multiplies the number of CPT codes in use complexity is going to try to drive another nail in the coffin of transparency. We can’t let this complexity win.  If we are not careful we will become so focused on diagnosing exactly what is wrong with a patient that we will forget that it would have been better to have avoided the patient having to come in for a diagnosis in the first place. 

If CPT Coding stays focused on minutely identifying an action or condition it risks missing the big picture and enabling preventative actions by physicians. Yet prevention is the big win in healthcare. It is something that has been lost in the Pay for Volume model that is the lot of the vast majority of US Health Care - with certain notable exceptions - like Kaiser Permanente.
When I look back at this week I wish Daniel Palistrant (of Sermo and Par8o) had been at the pre-networking event. His would have been an interesting voice to add to the discussion. He has a provocative article on his blog this week that complimented the CPT and Payment reform discussion. Check out his latest blog post:

January 27

Here is the full Tweet Reach report for #CISummit - Provided by HealthCamp as a service to Health Innovators everywhere

I was asked by someone at CMS if I could get a copy of the Tweets from the Care Innovations Summit (#CISummit). So here as a service to the Innovation Community is a copy of the report from TweetReach - both the old style report and the jazzy new version. Old Style Report:

TweetReach_cisummit_or_hcidc_org-OldStyle.pdf Download this file

New Style Report:

TweetReach_cisummit_or_hcidc_org-NewStyle.pdf Download this file

If you want to show some love for this service you can always head over to HealthCa.mp and make a small token donation.

It was a great event and I am looking forward to a repeat next year. We should all thank West Wireless Health Institute and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for putting together a great event. Thanks should also go to Kaiser Permanente for working with West Wireless to host the pre-event networking day at the Kaiser Permanente Center For Total Health. The feedback we have had from that high energy event has been fantastic. I heard understated comments like: “Best Networking Event. Ever!” The only downside of the networking day was the complaint from people that they had heard great reports about the event but didn’t hear about before hand so that they could take part.
January 26

#CISummit Don Casey wraps up the summit

Don Casey: CMS gets very little positive feedback. They took a risk and engaged with a passionate audience.
Let’s thank CMS for all their efforts.

1200 people at the event. 2400 people listened to web cast for extended periods.

Invest in putting the patient at the center - this is the path to better outcomes at lower cost.
Can we engineer a jailbreak for HealthCare. The question is how quickly.

Talk is cheap - what are you doing? We need to take action quickly.

Westhealth Policy Center working on a fellowship program to create research with actionable outcomes.
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#CISummit - Wrap up in the Innovation Hot Tub

5:15-
5:45pm

Fireside chat with Susan Dentzer

Editor-in-Chief, Health Affairs 

Jonathan Blum

Deputy Administrator and Director for the Center of Medicare at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

Cindy Mann

Deputy Administrator Director Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 

Rick Gilfillan, MD

Director, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (“CMS Innovation Center”)

Susan Dentzer suggests that a hot tub is a more appropriate metaphor since there is no fireplace.
Innovation is doing! Like cooking. 

Payment is an important part of the innovation soup.
Secret sauce is Culture Change

Scaling for Culture is hard to do.
Technology and Data is key.

Data is an enabler and the rocket fuel of innovation.
Evidence is key. 

We need to Share.
How do we move forward:

Jonathan Blum:  What does it take to be a high performing doctor or technician.
Best practice audits to review top performing plans and learn what the secret sauce is. Then communicate this information to others to apply.

[ED:]Scaling Positive Change is the same challenge as patient medication adherence. We can package it like a pill but medication is not the only part to a cure. People have to want to get better. If providers don’t buy in to new processes they will not perform at the same level as the top performers.
Rick Gilfillan: We (the Feds) don’t have to build a new delivery system. The care services in their local communities will build what works.

[ED: The challenge is to provide the payment systems that enable innovative methods of care to be implemented.

Looking in the upcoming CMS Challenge for ideas that engage people/patients in these new models.
Cindy Mann: our doors are open . Come forward with ideas.
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#CISummit Ignite Talks - Part 3

3:45-
4:00pm

Ignite Talks: Rapid Fire Innovation Pitches


Facilitated by Joe McCannon

Senior Advisor to the Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

Will Shrank, MD

Director, Rapid Cycle Evaluation Group, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 

David Eddy MD, PhD

Co-Founder, Archimedes
Joe McCannon -  Asked the question:
- Who would you most like to meet?
- What innovation has captured your imagination?

I know I want to learn more about the Allscripts challenge. 
Will Shrank - Rapid Cycle Evaluation Group - CMS

Medication Non-Adherence - Americas other drug problem

$0.5T problem due to medication non-adherence.
No magic bullet.  But….

Better education and communication
Pharmacists are potent communicators

Benefit design to remove payment barrier.
Simple reminders

Better labeling and packaging
HIT is the backbone of any adherence initiative. Social Networks are powerful tools.
Engage family and friends.

Tom Lee - One Medical Group

Entrepreneur behind epocraties
Redesigned primary care service at lower cost. Same day appointments. More time with patients. 
Not a concierge model.

Ideas are cheap. It is putting them in to practice that takes effort.
There is waste in the system. First concentrate on internal waste.  Started looking at support staff. Typical practice has 4.5 FTE’s per MD.
But that depends on handling many, many patients.

Dropped it to 1.5 FTE per MD
Classic People - Process - Technology challenge.

Instituted email. - what a concept! 
Simple systems. Email, web forms, simple EHR

Don’t specialize
What was learned:

- The bar is low.
- Expectations are rising.

Creativity is thinking new things - Innovation is doing new things.
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#CISummit - Chronic Care Management - The discussion

Atul Gawande leads a discussion on Chronic Care Management.

2:00-
3:30pm


Panel 2

Care Delivery/Chronic Disease Innovation Case Study


Moderator: Atul Gawande, MD, MPH

Surgeon, Writer, Public Health Researcher 

Kenneth Coburn, MD, MPH

Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director, Health Quality Partners (HQP) 

Alan Hoops

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, WellPoint/CareMore 

Debbie James

Vice President, Healthways Fitness Division, Healthways 

Mary Naylor, PhD, RN

Professor in Gerontology, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
DJ: Complex model. Targeted messaging based on demographics. 
Mail campaigns (majority of activity), phone calls. some clients they work with physicians. (Healthways client is the health plan or employer)

Fitness centers are trained to deal with seniors. 
MN: Nurse “hold the family and patient’s hand through the transition from hospital to home. This starts before release. Patients in hospital go from 24x7 care to 24x7 nothing upon release. 

AH: The component pieces of care are nothing new. What is new - for Health Plans to be accountable. CareMore focuses on the 10-20% of patients that exceeds the PCP’s ability to care for them. 
So…. CareMore is an outsource model. 

50% of chronic condition seniors admitted to hospital are either dead or readmitted within 12 months.
MN:  Focus on medicare and dual eligibles, multiple chronic conditions, multiple acute service use. Work in hospital and with PCP’s. Pick people up at a point of risk and support them to a point where they are no longer at risk.

DJ: beenfits seen in Year 1, benefits pay for all participants in Year 2.

KC:  High risk groups has ROI in first year. Wider beneftis in 4.5 yrs. Once people ar ein the program they stay in and continue to benefit.
MN: TCM has a continued investment needed in systems and training. Hospitalized patients show an ROI within months. 

AH: CareMore Model is a platform and patients are divided in to many sub-groups. Differing payback returns. CareMore looks for broken systems that enable 20-50% reduction in cost in a 6 month time frame.
Innovative models don’t fit the regulations. Regulations are designed for the healthier 75% and not the sickest 25%.

MN: Our biggest barrier is us
KC: No part of health system can stand apart. We need collaborative models.

DJ: Short term risk is short term thinking about costs
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#CISummit Joe McCannon introduces the next round of Ignite Talks

1:45-
2:00pm

Ignite Talks: Rapid Fire Innovation Pitches


Facilitated by Joe McCannon

Senior Advisor to the Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

Bob Masters

President and CEO, Commonwealth Care Alliance 

Jennifer DeCubellis

Area Director, Hennepin Health 

Tom X. Lee, MD

Chief Executive Officer, 1Life Healthcare and One Medical Group
Joe McCannon is based in the CMS Innovation Center and focuses on learning diffusion.

Bob Masters - Commonwealth Care Alliance
Based in MA.

Once in a generation opportunity to improve care for the most vulnerable - Dual Eligibles.
CCA focuses in MA on 3800 mostly home bound frail elders and 600 younger beneficiaries.

A lot of money spent but even more money saved.
How we care for the mentally ill is shameful.
75% are dual eligible. Average life expectancy is 53 years.

Implementing new Primary Care models. 
Jennifer DeCubellis - Hennepin Health

A social disparities approach to healthcare reform.
Patient Centered Care where care is Coordinated.
Add Pharmacists to care teams. Reduce medications and side effects and increasing time for Doctors. 

Mobile Crisis Home Visits. 24x7 crisis line. 
32% of population are in unstable housing. Providing services for the homeless.
Housing support helps place individuals - this reduces hospital stays. 

Interpreters help families navigate the system.
Vision care - don’t overlook this. Imagine being able to read your prescriptions.
Dental Care has been attached to emergency departments - this reduces ER visits and prescription of pain medications.

Food Pantries help patients deal with upset stomachs that impact medicatin adherence.
This just shows that you have to treat the whole person and not the condition.

Tom Lee - 1Life HealthCare and One Medical Group
Guidelines as key to physician-patient decision making.

Evidence-based medicine is not enough.
Guidelines are too simplistic. They focus on one risk factor at a time.
We need to look at each individual and take into account all risk factors. 
Calculate risks of all outcomes.
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A contagion of healthcare disruptors conspiring at #cisummit

@aviars
@pjmachado
@davidrosenman
@susannahfox
@mindofandre
@ctorgan
@lygia
Photo

And @epatientdave ducked out or a minute.

Who else did I miss?


Mark Scrimshire
B: http://ekive.blogspot.com
….Sent from my iPhone
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#CISummit - Key points and quotes part 1 - the morning sessions

Don Casey: Don Casey says healthcare costs are 17.9% of the GDP and may reach north of 30% if left unchecked. This could cripple the economy.
Dr. Atul Gawande: Health Care (cost) is destroying the American Dream
We forget the bell curve of impact and cost. The two curves do not match. This gives us hope. We want the positive deviants.

HealthCare today is like driving a car with a speedo that tells what speed we were traveling 4 years ago. Data is the key!
Rick Gilfillan: ”No one went to school to provide fragmented, expensive care”

@Todd_Park: Data is rocket fuel for innovation
@Todd_Park: There is no problem America can’t innovate its way out of - apply the innovation mojo!

Dr. Brian Prestwich - The EMR of today is completely inadequate for the family doctor. They need to be connected. They need knowledge from the patient. They need population information for comparison. (Lots of applause)
Dr. Brian Prestwich: Make it simple to reduce the cognitive workload

David Kirchhoff - Obesity is a lifestyle issue. Difficult and messy.
Lonny Reisman: Technology is essential but not sufficient

Farzad Mostashari: Data as oxygen for innovators.
Aneesh: Has ONC just put forward the idea of OpenTable for Health Care?
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#CISummit - More Ignite Talks

12:15-
12:30pm

Ignite Talks: Prizes and Challenges


Facilitated by Aneesh Chopra

United States Chief Technology Officer, Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Technology, Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) 

Toby Samo, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Allscripts 

Leigh Burchell

Vice President, Policy & Government Affairs, Allscripts 

Michael Williams

Vice President of Primary Care, Pfizer 

Suzanne Blaug

Head, Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, a Janssen Pharmaceutical Company 

Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC)
Toby Samo - Allscripts

Allscripts Million Hearts Clinical DEcision Support Challenge.
Fighting Cardiovascular Disease. $50,000 top prize. 

CVD: $400B cost in direct and indirect costs in 2010.
Expand the use of clinical decision support. 

Machine readable format that can be read by any EMR.

Michael Williams - Pfizer / Suzanne Blaug - Jansenn Alzheimer Immunotherapy
Over 13M people may have Alzheimers
12.5B unpaid Care hours
Dementia costs $1T per year.

Alzheimer cost is larger than Walmart’s annual revenue.
Need:
1. Tools to detect early symptoms
2. Tools to monitor and track changes over time.

A devastating disease because symptoms go undetected. 
Develop a simple cost effective, reliable high touch tool that can detect Alzheimers and track changes over time.

Enter data in to EMRs 
Be user friendly.
www.alzheimerschallenge2012.com

Farzad Mostashari - ONC
Data as oxygen for Innovators.

Care Transitions Challenge #2 . Post-Discharge Follow-up Appointments.
More EMR adoption in last 2 years than in last 20 years. Adoption doubled.

BUT we need interoperability.
Meaningful use means you change outcomes

Quality Measurement BY providers NOT TO providers.
70% of rural PCPs work with a Regional Extension Center.

130,000 PCPs working with local non-profits to change care delivery.
Challenge #1 was around Transitions of Care.

Challenge #2 is a simple thing….
How to get a patient to have an appointment with their doctor after they leave hospital.

But it hides a lot of complexity.
The prize isn’t money….

The prize is connection…. to communities that want to implement the solution.
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#CISummit Care Delivery Care Innovation - The discussion

Care Delivery/Primary Care Innovation Case Study


Moderator: Mohit Kaushal, MD, MBA

Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer, West Wireless Health Institute 

Christopher Chen, MD

Chief Executive Officer, ChenMed 

Frank Ingari

President and Chief Executive Officer, Essence Healthcare 

Brian Prestwich, MD

Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California 

Lonny Reisman, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Aetna 

David P Kirchhoff

President and Chief Executive Officer, Weight Watchers

2% incentive for Docs is a small number. Small number = small change.
FI: Aggregation to deal with scale. Episodes of care has issues with boundaries of care.
Capitation is the long term solution. 

LR: A continuum of solutions for delivery solutions. starting from basic EMR implementation building to full risk management/share.
AETNA doing a lot of consultation that leads to development of payment models that work for the delivery system.
Orientation around the patient is an awakening. The solution to health is not in the doc’s office or hospital

FI: The model today is a reactive patient presentment model. We need to flip the model so that the provider is reaching out before the patient presents.
CC: We need a cultural change for doctors. We should expect docs to help innovate. 

BP:  Risk-based registries are critical to population care. We need time to reflect on patient story and payment options to allow e-consults.
DK:  Working with Cleveland Clinic,  State of Oregon.  We need to move to focus on prevention. eg. for avoiding diabetes.  Alignment works. Patient, Payer, Provider

FI:  Reducing obesity would have massive ROI for Medicare participants. 
LR: Technology is essential but not sufficient.  Support and incentives are a critical addition. More collaboration needed to achieve success.

 CC: After a heart attack a patient has an average of 11 drugs to take. Put the drugs in their hand don’t send them to a pharmacy. This removes one barrier. 
BP:  We need to help patients do workflow on their own life/health.

BP: The LA Innovation Corridor covers 11M people. 
 What would you do to help achieve the Triple Aim:
DK: Rewire the system so that incentives align with processes.  We need proactive preventive care.
BP: HIT  that supports the patient and population view. Dashboards that guide care. Take care of patients well and the risk takes care of itself.
CC: Scaling culture is hard. We need to rewire from transactions to outcomes.
FI: Use Meaningful Use Phase 2 /3 to be more open. Allow information to flow in AND out.
LR: We need to spend more time thinking about Health - Engagement and motivation. Patients don’t automatically do what the doctor suggests. 
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#CISummit: Frank Ingari - Essence Healthcare / Chris Chen of ChenMed / Brian Prestwich - Keck School of Med USC / Kirchhoff - @WeightWatchers


10:45am-12:15pm


Panel 1

Care Delivery/Primary Care Innovation Case Study


Moderator: Mohit Kaushal, MD, MBA

Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer, West Wireless Health Institute 

Christopher Chen, MD

Chief Executive Officer, ChenMed 

Frank Ingari

President and Chief Executive Officer, Essence Healthcare 

Brian Prestwich, MD

Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California 

Lonny Reisman, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Aetna 

David P Kirchhoff

President and Chief Executive Officer, Weight Watchers


Larry Ingari - Essence Healthcare

Reinvented insurer as logistics and evidence provider.
Eliminating acute episodes is not enough.

Medicare Advantage  addresses flaws in original plans.
Essence provides data for free to their providers.
timely, accurate with continuous learning.

Detailed performance summaries.
Collaboration on benefit design referral and other policies.
Initiatives are driven by Care Management.

Christopher Chen - ChenMed

Another instance of a family of physicians discovering the experience of a patient.
No one accountable for care/results.

Principles:
1. Invest in patients upfront
focused on moderate to low income senior population (focus on a specific population)

2. Physician Culture - deliver outcomes and not procedures
3. Develop technology to achieve goals.

Design a one stop shop approach for a focused population.
Then you need to get access for the population. They provide transportation to/from the clinic.

Restrict panel size so patients can be seen monthly. 
Technology is designed to support the doctor patient relationship.

Brian Prestwich - Keck School of Medicine - University of Southern California
The Greater LA Care Innovation Corridor. 

Doctors need time. They need support.
Doctors need information. 

The EMR of today is completely inadequate for the family doctor. They need to be connected. They need knowledge from the patient. They need population information for comparison.
Redesigning team-based care.
Redesigning the Physician work day.

Group care works for complex patient issues.
Figure out what you want to do
Fix the care model
Implement technology to support the care model.
Educate the patient to take better care of themselves.

Make it simple to reduce the cognitive workload

David Kirchhoff - Weight Watchers
Obesity is a lifestyle issue.

It is difficult and messy

The NHS in the UK works with Weight Watchers. Doctors can provide vouchers and refer patients to Weight Watchers.
12 Session course on PCP referral. 45 UKL at no cost to patient.

A Cambridge study showed PCP+Weight watchers program is twice as effective. Doctor creates sense of urgency. Weight Watchers delivers program and payer supports. 
WW does 45,000 meetings per week globally (20k in USA)
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#CISummit Mohit Kaushal - Care Delivery/Primary Care Innovation Case Study

10:45am-12:15pm


Panel 1

Care Delivery/Primary Care Innovation Case Study


Moderator: Mohit Kaushal, MD, MBA

Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer, West Wireless Health Institute 

Christopher Chen, MD

Chief Executive Officer, ChenMed 

Frank Ingari

President and Chief Executive Officer, Essence Healthcare 

Brian Prestwich, MD

Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California 

Lonny Reisman, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Aetna 

David P Kirchhoff

President and Chief Executive Officer, Weight Watchers
Lonny Reisman - AETNA:

Tiered Networks as an emerging standard. Constrained networks (to ACO as most constrained) driving quality improvements.
AETNA is building HIT tools to power ACOs.

Sharing and Interoperability is important. ETNA has acquired Medicity to provide a Health Information Exchange.
Analytics are important. 

We need precision of information. We need workflow tools to maximize performance.
AETNA has 3 models:

1. Enhanced Clinical capabilities
2. Population Management
3. White Label Payer 
Eliminating co-pays for patients have demonstrated improvements in care. ie. reduce the patients barrier to care.

Free drugs after a heart attack led to only 51% compliance. This indicates that there is far more to be done in caring for the patient.
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#CISummit @aneeshChopra is up with Ignite Talks on prizes and Challenges (@DDDiabetes, @KP JandJ

Aneesh Chopra: Rousing the crowd. Aneesh has to build on the @Todd_Park mojo.
Innovation will grow new industries and new businesses. 

America Competes gives the government new tools to spark breakthrough ideas.

Ignite Talks on Prizes and Challenges
1. Dennis Urbaniak: Sanofi - Diabetes Challenge

Crowdsourcing Health

2012 Data Design Diabetes Innovation Challenge:
1. Crowdsource applications
2. Open Submission
3. Mentorship
4. Demo Day
5. Support 

Tweet using @DDDiabetes

2. Johnson & Johnson / Janssen Healthcare 
Janssen Connected Care Challenge.

Caring for a person who has been hospitalized is very challenging. Can we develop a tool or system to help people coordinate care.
1 in 3 people discharged don’t see their physician inside 30 days.

This is a $15B problem. $12B is preventable!
How do you connect caretakers, medication, therapy, physician, hospital in a coordinated care plan.

The challenge is looking for approaches to improve connected care. Prizes range from $50,000 to $100,000.
www.janssenhealthcareinnovation.com

3. James Albino - White House /  Michael Horberg - Kaiser Permanente.

Kaiser Permanente HIV Innovation Challenge
www.kp.org/hivchallenge

KP’s systemic approach to HIV treatment leads the nation. mortality rates are much lower than national average. Their approach also eliminates the treatment disparities  amongst disadvantaged communities.
KP is largest provider of integrated HIV care in the USA.

Get patients diagnosed, in to care and on a course of treatment leads to better outcomes and productive lives.
Multi-disiplinary care. using the EMR, coordinated treatment.

The challenge: join KP and benefit from their lessons learned.  No cost access to the toolkit they have compiled.
Access to mentorship and treatment and care guidelines.
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#CISummit Rick Gilfillan, MD - Director CMS Innovation Center and @Todd_Park

Rick Gilfillan - Director of CMS Innovation Center with Todd_Park, CTO and Entrepreneur in Residence at Health and Human Services.
The CMS Innovation Center Approach:

Is the Triple Aim possible?
Amongst diabetics: Treatment (insulin and blood strips) = $3600 per year v leg amputation for ulcerated foot = $50,000

A system that is good at providing “care fragments” 
The Emergency Room is becoming the only viable place to get care for a growing population.

Achieving the three part aim:
1. Commitment:
2. Innovation
3. Spread the innovations with wide adoptions
Innovation approaches:
Medical Homes
Accountable Care Organizations
Bundled Payments

“No one went to school to provide fragmented, expensive care”
If something CMS Innovation Center tests something that can improve care with positive results then they can promote regulations to aodpt the new payment structures.

This provides the opportunity to move from pay for volume to pay for outcomes.
Multi-Payer Primary Care Practice

Federally Qualified Health Centers Medical Homes
Dual Eligible population: 9M have Medicare and Medicaid coverage.

Pioneer ACOs - 32 contracts to test ACO models reaching 87,000 medicare beneficiaries.
Diffusion and Scale: 
- Innovation Advisors
- Million Hearts (could save 1M lives over 5 years)
- Partnership for Patients (focusing on patient safety and care transitions)

The Innovation Challenge: $1B of awards to demonstrate new methods of care.
A large portion of the audience are interested in this challenge which closes on Friday January 27th - Tomorrow!

Data is critical. 
Todd Park now talks about how data will get to innovators.

CMS is embracing the power of Data Liberacion.
Data is rocket fuel for innovation

Strategic priority to unleash the power of CMS data to improve health care - while protecting patient privacy..
Blue Button - VA, Medicare beneficiaries can download their own personal health or claims record.

500,000 people have downloaded their data. Adoption is accelerating. This is expanding to private sector organizations. 
Robert Wood Johnson have established bluebuttondata.org

Data for ACOs

Medicare Data Sharing for Performance Measurement - these reports will be made available to the general public.
www.healithindicators.gov

These are just the beginning. Improving accessibility and serviceability of data is a core service function for CMS.
There is no problem America can’t innovate its way out of - apply the innovation mojo!

Rick Gilfillan: Now is the time to decide - adopt innovation. Change the way we think. It is not abstract. It is a real issue.  Doing nothing is making the decision to standstill. 

It is not easy. it is difficult. Remember the first rule of medicine: Do no harm.
CMS pledges to be a constructive force in this change.