This is the fourth in a series in which the Penn State Office of Human Resources explains how participation in Penn State Health Care Partners’ clinically integrated network will assist University employees with effective management of their health and chronic conditions, and positively impact overall medical benefit costs.For Penn State Health Care Partners (PSHCP), there is strength in numbers. Engaging and including local physicians, hospitals and other care facilities helps PSHCP to achieve a higher quality of care, efficiency and cost effectiveness.More physicians means both PSHCP and the participating physicians have access to more data on what kinds of medical conditions and chronic illnesses are most prevalent in the region, what treatments have worked best, and which patients need the most immediate help managing their condition.

That’s why a goal of the PSHCP is to empower local physicians with the ability to confidentially collect and share data and clinical outcomes, as appropriate, within the network. In turn, participating physicians gain access to information that will allow them to better manage the chronic diseases of Penn State’s University Park employees and adult dependents (members). PSHCP’s first significant recruitment in the Centre County region was Mount Nittany Health.

“Mount Nittany Health has joined PSHCP so that we can better coordinate the care of the Penn State community,” said Dr. Anthony Cardell, executive director and chief medical officer of Mount Nittany Physician Group. “PSHCP will provide us with a more complete view of our patient’s medical histories, and the care managers will support our physicians by connecting with patients as well as their physicians between visits.”

Starting this month, Penn State employees and their adult dependents living in Centre County may begin receiving calls from PSHCP’s care managers as part of a free and innovative pilot program to provide employees and their families access to broader resources to monitor and manage health conditions, especially chronic conditions, and curtail rising health costs.

PSHCP’s care managers will work with the physicians of Penn State’s University Park employees and adult dependents (members) to identify intervention opportunities for those high-risk members based on their chronic condition and treatment history. Care managers will then contact members to discuss their conditions, treatment options and to offer assistance or guidance with any health-care related issues.

All providers in the PSHCP network exercise the high standards of patient confidentiality as determined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly known as HIPAA, and Penn State members can choose to opt out of the service from the moment they receive their first care manager call. HIPAA also ensures that a member’s health information is kept private and secure, and used only by assigned participants of the care team. Furthermore, no one at Penn State will know anything about a member’s condition or treatment, whether or not the member chooses to stay in the program or opts out. 

“Physicians and other care providers gain the opportunity to identify, measure and share best practices, and control costs with positive clinical outcomes for their patients,” said Dr. William Bird, chief medical officer for Penn State Health Care Partners and chair of Family and Community Medicine for the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

For more information on Penn State Health Care Partners, visit http://pennstatehealthcarepartners.org/. 

To read the first three articles in this series, click on the links below:

Penn State Health Care Partners seeks to help with optimal health management

Penn State Health Care Partners’ network to focus on chronic disease management

Penn State Health Care Partners to provide secure data sharing