CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oak Street Health, Inc. (NYSE: OSH, or the “Company”), a network of value-based primary care centers for adults on Medicare, today published its inaugural Social Impact Report. The report highlights the impact the Company made in the last year on the patients it cares for, communities it serves, and the U.S. healthcare system overall. The report also details personal experiences of both patients and teammates. Oak Street Health is on a mission to rebuild healthcare as it should be and employs 4,800 teammates who care for over 150,000 patients in more than 130 clinics across 20 states.
“I’m so proud of what our team has accomplished for our patients and communities across the country through our value-based care model,” said Mike Pykosz, Chief Executive Officer of Oak Street Health. “Our Social Impact Report reveals the positive effects we are making each and every day to deliver better quality care, improve health outcomes, bridge health equity gaps and lower costs. As we continue on our mission to rebuild healthcare as it should be, I know we will make an even greater impact in years to come.”
Key findings from the Social Impact Report include:
- Delivering measurably better outcomes: Oak Street Health’s value-based model of care delivers measurably better health outcomes for patients, reducing patient hospital admissions and emergency department visits by 51% and reducing 30-day readmission rates for patients by 42%, compared to Medicare benchmarks.
- Prioritizing preventive care: More than 87% of Oak Street Health patients completed an annual wellness visit, which is more than triple the average annual wellness visit completion rate for Medicare enrollees. Oak Street Health is focused on comprehensive prevention, disease management and wellness support to increase health equity and deliver better outcomes. In addition, patients at Oak Street Health see their provider an average of eight times per year, compared to the average of 2.5 to 3 times per year for older adults across the country.
- Sustaining clinical programs that beat industry benchmarks: As demonstrated by nationally benchmarked Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) metrics, Oak Street Health has achieved 5 Stars level performance in Medicare quality through its Diabetes Disease Management Program, ensuring 85% of diabetic patients had well-controlled diabetes (+6% above industry benchmark), Quality Program driving 87% of patients to complete a screening for breast cancer (+12% above industry benchmark) and Screenings + Vaccination Program resulting in 88% of patients completing a screening for colorectal cancer (+14% above industry benchmark).
- Integrating behavioral health to treat the whole person: Oak Street Health’s integrated approach to primary care prioritizes behavioral health to care for a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. As a result, patients experienced an average reduction of 5.3 points in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9) depression test scores after 6 weeks of treatment, and 43% of enrolled patients sustained a reduction of 50% or greater after 6 months of treatment.
- Helping patients weather the pandemic: To provide the same level of care during the COVID-19 crisis, Oak Street Health provided 12,096 in-home appointments in 2021 and treated 7,000 patients through its COVID Care program. Additionally, Oak Street Health administered 200,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses and transitioned 93% of 2,200 daily patient visits to telehealth appointments during the beginning of the pandemic to continue to support patients.
- Enriching communities and building trust: With each new center, Oak Street Health invests more than $2 million into the local community and adds between 35 to 50 jobs for people who live in neighborhoods around the centers, providing stable jobs in underserved communities. Due to the diversity of its workforce, Oak Street Health providers bring culturally-competent care to their patients and create deeper trust between patients and care teams. In 2021, the Company created 1,200 jobs and invested nearly $350M of care center investment in urban and suburban communities across the country.
- Leading the way for the healthcare industry: In 2020, Oak Street Health’s Accountable Care Organization (ACO), Acorn Network, generated the fourth-highest savings rate of all 513 ACOs at 16.86% — more than four times the 4% average of participating organizations. This resulted in about $1,200 in annual taxpayer savings vs. CMS targets for our approximately 5,000 patients served.
To learn more about Oak Street Health and the impact its care teams have had on patients, communities and the healthcare industry, download the full report here.
About Oak Street Health
Founded in 2012, Oak Street Health is a network of value-based primary care centers for adults on Medicare. With a mission of rebuilding healthcare as it should be, the Company operates an innovative healthcare model focused on quality of care over volume of services, and assumes the full financial risk of its patients. Oak Street Health currently operates more than 130 centers across 20 states and is the only primary care provider to carry the AARP name. To learn more about Oak Street Health’s proven approach to care, visit oakstreethealth.com.
