For our latest Four Questions Series, we sat down with Joe Kachelski, CEO of the Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network (WISHIN), to get his thoughts on value-based care, challenges he’s seeing in the healthcare space, along with how Bamboo Health has helped make an impact since partnering with WISHIN earlier this year.
WISHIN is an independent not-for-profit organization which works to successfully provide health information technology to patients and caregivers through its statewide health information network. WISHIN’s existing network consists of physicians, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, clinical laboratories, and health plans located throughout Wisconsin.
What are some of the challenges seen in the shift toward value-based care?
There are many challenges regarding this shift, but I will focus on three.
The first challenge is acknowledging that the shift is happening, and that the trend is going to continue. Reasonable people can disagree about how pervasive the change will be and how quickly it will proceed, but there’s little doubt the pendulum is swinging in that direction.
Secondly, visibility into clinical encounters that occur beyond the four walls of the risk-taking system is critical. We know that patients are mobile and that they often can and do receive care outside the network. Success in value-based care hinges on effective care coordination when such encounters occur. That means (1) timely awareness of the episode and (2) ready access to actionable clinical information to help ensure a successful outcome. Claims data is of little value if the opportunity to coordinate care occurred weeks or even months in the past.
Finally, the formerly bright lines between the payer and provider realms are becoming blurred as time goes on. Each side of the equation is taking on risk, and providers and payers are sometimes sharing care coordination and care management responsibilities. It only makes sense that each party has access to the same information when carrying out these functions.
What value do care coordination tools offer in today’s healthcare environment?
More information is better, but it must be easily accessible and actionable. Above all, individuals need to know that the information exists.
Tools that facilitate collaboration, coordination, and visibility into healthcare encounters elsewhere are essential. Unfortunately, information silos are nowhere near extinct; there are “blind spots” in many places along the care continuum, and fax machines continue to be ubiquitous.
WISHIN’s vision is that WISHIN Pulse, the statewide community health record, can serve as a one-stop shop, a common care-coordination foundation that enables the best-informed care for all patients, wherever and whenever they intersect with the care-delivery system.
Where does Pings make the most impact?
WISHIN’s partnership with PatientPing (Bamboo Health) extends WISHIN’s capabilities in two respects. First, PatientPing (Pings) can push real-time capable, highly-configurable notifications to providers and payers, and integrate seamlessly with the WISHIN Pulse community health record for additional clinical context about the encounter and the patient’s clinical history. Second, PatientPing (Bamboo Health) has experience and expertise in engaging and connecting ancillary providers, most notably post-acute and home care, to extend the reach of the WISHIN network.
Why did you choose to partner with Bamboo Health?
Beyond the reasons stated above, PatientPing (Bamboo Health)’s national network was attractive. Many WISHIN clients want to be aware of “snowbirds” and other encounters beyond Wisconsin’s border. In addition, PatientPing (Bamboo Health) was supportive and enthusiastic about WISHIN’s desire to embed a single-sign-on link to the WISHIN Pulse community health record in notifications involving Wisconsin patients. This allows WISHIN and PatientPing (Bamboo Health) to work seamlessly together to deliver value to our clients and ultimately do what’s best for the patient.
Thanks so much, for these insights, Joe! For more information about how Bamboo Health can enhance your care coordination efforts, contact us.