CERRITOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CareMore Health System announces a collaboration with the Gehr Family Center for Implementation Science at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine to study novel approaches to caring for high-cost, high-need patients and to train the next generation of leaders in health care delivery and implementation science. The collaboration allows for CareMore physicians, through the CareMore-Gehr Fellowship, to receive policy and research training at Keck Medical Center under the mentorship of Gehr Center faculty. The fellows will work on health care delivery innovation projects related to CareMore’s patient base. Dr. Sauda Bholat, most recently chief resident in internal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, has been chosen as the inaugural fellow for the program.
“This fellowship is a novel partnership between a leading academic medical center and an innovative managed care delivery system,” said Dr. Michael Hochman, director of the Gehr Center. "Examining CareMore’s model, which has successfully treated the highest risk patients in complex health care delivery environments, will surely provide key learnings around how we can provide more value to patients while operating an efficient health system.”
The CareMore model was founded on the idea that providing better quality care results in spending less on health care over time. It was developed more than two decades ago to address the fact that chronically ill patients comprise 15 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, but account for 75 percent of health care costs. Through the pillars of chronic care management, acute care management, and predictive modeling and early intervention, CareMore devised innovative solutions for chronic health issues, particularly among the geriatric population, that treat patients more comprehensively, and result in fewer hospital admissions over time.
With the ever-changing health care marketplace, it remains crucial to continuously develop and recreate effective health care delivery methods. The CareMore-Gehr Fellowship seeks to help with that.
“Dr. Bholat’s work with the Gehr Center will help us better understand our existing model of care and identify opportunities to change it to more effectively serve patients,” noted Dr. Sachin Jain, CareMore president. “The Gehr Center at the Keck School of Medicine is one of the premier institutions in the emerging fields of health care delivery science and implementation.”
The CareMore and Gehr Center collaboration also provides a model for effective academic partnerships with novel health systems and delivery models.
“Some of the most exciting ideas in health care are generated in clinical practice outside of the academic medical center environment,” said Dr. Edward Crandall, chair of the Department of Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine. “Academic study of health systems like CareMore can help us understand how these models work to improve care delivery.”
The program will also provide important training for future clinical leaders. Many of the skills that will be emphasized in the CareMore-Gehr Fellowship program are imperative for effectively improving the quality and efficiency of care delivery, as well as the health of populations.
“The CareMore-Gehr Fellowship will create a pipeline of clinicians with the skills to be effective health system leaders in the years ahead,” said Dr. Jain. “There has been a lot of discussion about how to create ‘learning’ health systems, and a program like this may be one way to make this concept a reality.”
The Fellowship will be co-led by Dr. Anil Hanuman, regional chief medical officer at CareMore, and Dr. Michael Hochman, director of the Gehr Center at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.
CareMore
CareMore Health System has invested in developing an extensive clinical infrastructure centered on high-touch patient care for Medicare beneficiaries and other populations. Its clinical model is an innovative health care delivery approach that proactively addresses the health needs of members of Medicare and/or Medicaid plans by focusing on prevention and highly coordinated care, resulting in clinical outcomes above the national average. Today, the CareMore model provides care for more than 100,000 Medicare Advantage and Medicaid members of health plans in California, Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa and Georgia. CareMore also is participating in a dual demonstration project in parts of Los Angeles County in conjunction with state and federal regulators to coordinate care for people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
The Gehr Family Center for Implementation Science at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
The mission of the Gehr Family Center for Implementation Science at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California is to advance the field of care delivery by implementing and studying strategies for improving the quality and efficiency of care, as well as population health, within “real-world” settings. Faculty from the Gehr Center work with health systems in the Los Angeles community to test and evaluate new ideas using a rigorous scientific process. The Gehr Center also offers innovation grants for those with ideas for improving care delivery; a program for students interested in becoming health care delivery leaders; and a quarterly speakers series on campus.