Aurora, Colo. (March 2, 2017) – UCHealth and University of Colorado Medicine are launching UCHealth Integrated Network, an affiliation for Colorado’s high-performing health care providers to collaborate, innovate and deliver patient care within a partnership. UCHealth Integrated Network will improve care coordination among its partners to manage costs and improve the quality of care for patients.

“Health care payers, including insurance companies and Medicare, are now offering new value-based payment models and incentives for providers who effectively manage costs and increase quality,” said Jean Haynes, UCHealth chief population health officer. “However, participating in these programs requires extensive coordination, time and knowledge about the contracts and the populations we serve. UCHealth Integrated Network does this work for our partners, giving providers the freedom to put their patients first and to focus on keeping a broad population of people as healthy as possible.”

More than 2,000 providers are now partnering within UCHealth Integrated Network including Associates in Family Medicine, UCHealth Medical Group, Family Medicine Center and CU Medicine, in addition to UCHealth hospitals and clinic locations. UCHealth Integrated Network will participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and manage attributed Medicare beneficiaries. Moreover, as changes to the Affordable Care Act take effect and narrow networks become more prevalent, this network will make it easy and simple for partners to provide high-quality care to the people they serve – and in turn improve the health of our entire patient population.

“By establishing UCHealth Integrated Network, we are combining our talents and building on our strengths,” said Anne Fuhlbrigge, MD, MS, chief medical officer for CU Medicine. “Through our Office of Value-Based Performance and our expertise in quality and performance measurement, we will develop models of delivering care that improve the health of our patients.”

UCHealth Integrated Network extends the UCHealth infrastructure to all participating partners including independent physician groups and hospitals throughout Colorado. With University of Colorado Hospital as its academic anchor, UCHealth is uniquely able to provide advanced treatments and innovative clinical trials, ensuring excellent care and outcomes for more than 1.2 million unique patients each year. The physician-oriented organization of UCHealth Integrated Network will tailor a unique focus on the “Quadruple Aim” principles: improving health outcomes, patient experience, provider/staff satisfaction and the affordability of health care – allowing providers to stay in touch with patients and their care throughout their lives.

“We are excited to have such a large number of excellent providers, payers and employers already committed to partnering within this network,” said Elizabeth Concordia, president and CEO of UCHealth. “Together, we are innovating how we provide the highest quality care to our patients while also preparing for the future of health care. We are in discussions with additional partners now, which will further expand the number of Coloradoans whose health we are working to improve.”

UCHealth Integrated Network is unique among its peers in its pledge to deliver on these four key areas:

• Enhanced access, care coordination and patient experience: Enable participating providers from across the continuum to be successful in delivering coordinated population health care by providing the tools, expertise and incentives that enable more cost-effective, coordinated patient care. We make patient health everyone’s priority and interest.
• New payment models associated with value-based agreements: Offer a financially sustainable population health platform that positions health care providers to successfully shift from a “volume” to a “value-based” payment environment. We prioritize what the patient views as valuable.
• Quality outcomes and managed total cost of care: Provide access to governmental and commercial value-based contracts, which reward providers for their efforts to improve quality and reduce health care costs. We are committed to actual implementation and execution.
• Give stakeholders ease of access to a comprehensive, quality network and clinical care solution: Enable providers to collaborate with payers for product launches and in narrow network opportunities where UCHealth Integrated Network is the exclusive provider for high-quality, low-cost health care.

“Effective communication and transparency aid in fostering mutually beneficial long-term relationships with our stakeholders,” said Dr. Austin Bailey, UCHealth medical director of population health. “We will continue to grow our network and expand our capabilities to better serve our patient population while also keeping up with industry trends. As UCHealth makes investments in our infrastructure, the benefits are shared with our partners.”

Providers interested in joining or learning more can visit UCHealth Integrated Network.