What if a clinic located at your work site was devoted to proactively helping you and your family stay healthy? That’s the premise behind a new service being offered by Intermountain and Castell at the Intermountain-staffed clinic on the campus of US Synthetic in Orem.
Michelle James
The US Synthetic clinic has been using Intermountain’s “reimagined primary care” model of value-based care since November with great success. Instead of just treating patients when they come to the clinic with an illness or injury, the clinic team is focusing on proactively helping US Synthetic employees and their families stay healthy. This helps prevent costly illnesses and injuries.
“We’re not looking at who’s on the schedule, but who should be on the schedule,” explains Michelle James, Castell’s executive director of commercial products. “We’ll look at who’s been sick recently, who’s been to the ER recently, who had a recent injury, and proactively reach out to them to see how they’re doing.”
The new model includes a robust data platform where key metrics are reviewed regularly to ensure we’re following up with patients consistently and regularly.
Ryan LeCheminant
Patients have been very pleased with the change, says Ryan LeCheminant, practice director. Four specific things he says they’re praising about the new model:
- Improved access. It’s much easier for patients to get appointments, including in desired specialties like behavioral health.
- More quality time. Patients are getting more time with the provider and spending less time in the waiting room.
- More efficient. Patients have been able get a lot of things taken care of without needing a formal appointment at the clinic, such as doing a quick video call with the physician for simple issues and doing prescription renewals over the phone. This trend has accelerated during the pandemic as caregivers and patients have become more comfortable doing things remotely.
- More frequent contact. Patients and staff are having additional touch points outside of formal visits, which many patients greatly appreciate.
Caregivers and providers at the clinic say this is the way they’d prefer to deliver care. Instead of focusing on filling the schedule, they can focus on providing the best possible care for their patients. Spencer Scoville, DO, a provider at the US Synthetic clinic, says although they’re still refining processes, he’s already seen some big benefits and he’s optimistic things will only improve.
“Our focus is on anticipating patient’s needs so they can get the care they need immediately,” Dr. Scoville says. “We’re actively looking for gaps in transition or needed follow up. We have an added individual on the back end looking at patent care needs. I’m more carefully following reports from the ER, urgent care, and Connect Care. Our huddle is formalized around urgent care and ER visits. We also have access to a mental health provider via Connect Care, which has been great. We’re working at getting the information we need to see where we can provide better service and be more available to patient needs. I’m excited, as the data gets more accurate, to see how we can hone in on areas that need improvement.”
US Synthetic is also benefiting from the new model, Ryan says. Company leaders are happy their employees are healthier so they can do their best work, avoid injuries on the job, have fewer sick days, and can better enjoy their life away from work. The new model is also expected to reduce the amount the company pays for employee insurance coverage.
How do we get paid in the new model? Michelle says the clinic team regular meets with the employer to demonstrate the clinic’s value. Historically, they would primarily look at clinic utilization to justify the payment, so the incentive was to keep the clinic full of appointments. Now they’ve added new metrics to show the clinic’s value, such as reduced emergency department visits, higher quality, and improved patient outcomes.
The model includes a shared risk between the employer and Intermountain. We promise to provide good outcomes and the employer promises to pay a certain amount for those outcomes. The incentive is to reduce utilization and keep people healthy rather than to keep the clinic full.
“It’s all about aligning the incentives in the right way,” Michelle says. “We’re not looking at volumes but quality health outcomes. The goal is improved health and improved patient experience at an affordable cost.”
Michelle says Intermountain is also offering this model at the Intermountain Employee Clinic located at the Cottonwood Clinic in Murray. These primary care services are available to caregivers and their family members.