Kaiser Permanente and Geisinger have a long, shared history of innovating to improve health outcomes and population health through an integrated care model built on value-based care. Now, with Kaiser Permanente’s pending acquisition of Geisinger, they will be sharing much more.
The two health care giants are set form a new, nonprofit organization known as Risant Health, and that presents an exciting opportunity to build out value-based care in a “next-generation” type of way, said Jaewon Ryu, MD, Geisinger’s president and CEO.
Dr. Ryu, who will take the helm of CEO at Risant Health once the merger closes, discussed this new partnership during an episode of “AMA Update,” offering more details on the acquisition’s future impact on value-based care.
Geisinger and several of the Permanente medical groups are members of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
What Risant Health will do
As part of Risant Health, Geisinger will retain its name and mission, continuing to partner with other health plans and independent physician groups and other health systems to take care of its members. Geisinger in turn will benefit from Risant Health’s value-based platform, which offers value-based capabilities in care-model design, pharmacy, consumer digital engagement, health plan product development, and purchasing.
It’s important to scale up in clinical programs and on the health plan side. “We've seen great things happen when we wrap our arms around our members as patients,” noted Dr. Ryu.
The result is a fully integrated health care model that leads to higher adherence rates among patients with chronic conditions, he added.
A good example of this is Geisinger’s 65 Forward model, a program designed for patients 65 or older. The focus is to prevent downstream illness and disease progression through longer appointments, smaller patient panels for doctors, and social and wellness programs.
The program has seen inpatient admissions and emergency department use rates drop by 15% and upwards of 40%, respectively.
“It really goes to that higher-touch primary care model that often removes the perceived need or the real need for patients to feel like they have to land in places like the hospital,” said Dr. Ryu.
Investing in technology
The new model will also allow Geisinger to scale up next-generation analytics and augmented intelligence programs, as well as digital tools and technologies. These types of innovations help equip physicians and care teams to identify populations that need targeted programs or develop consumer-oriented insights and tools.
“Being able to have all of those capabilities, bring them to bear to continue to innovate and deliver greater value—but still being able to partner with others to do so—we think that's the right answer for our communities,” said Dr. Ryu.
He said that many physicians are enthused about the possibilities that come with this acquisition, said Dr. Ryu.
Employed physicians are excited about moving value-based, innovative programs to the next level. “For community physicians that we partner with, I think there's excitement to see how they can play a role in this model,” he said.
“AMA Update” covers health care topics affecting the lives of physicians and patients. Hear from physicians and experts on public health, advocacy issues, scope of practice and more—because who’s doing the talking matters. You can catch every episode by subscribing to the AMA’s YouTube channel or the audio-only podcast version, which also features educational presentations and in-depth discussions.
