HEALTHCARE & LIFE SCIENCES INTERVIEW
Propeling care Innovation, strategic partnerships and keeping a finger on the pulse of community needs will propel the healthcare system
Gregory Deavens President & CEO – Independence Health Group In what areas did the pandemic shine a light and how has independence Health responded? The pandemic brought to light the issue of health inequities and broader inequities. We have begun to mine our data to validate and identify inequities that we see in the delivery of healthcare. We’ve had a focus on that as we moved through 2020 and now into 2021. We’re working with a number of organizations to address some of those. Late last year, we launched a partnership with The Philadelphia Tribune called Our Community. Our Health. that is laser-focused on the high levels of diabetes, obesity and heart disease in the African-American community. This whole effort is intended to provide information and education around those particular disease states but also to provide access to nutritional resources that will help people change their diets. For our senior population, we recently partnered with an organization called Signify Health that is looking to break down some of the traditional barriers to accessing clinical and social care and improving health outcomes for seniors. What innovation strategies has Independence deployed to optimize the member’s experience? One of the concerns that we know our members and customers had at the outset of the pandemic was obtaining access to testing and treatment resources, as well as the associated cost burden. One of the first things we did was make sure that our members would not face out-of-pocket costs for testing or treatment. We also recognized, based on Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations relative to limiting the spread, that there would be a need for individuals to access their providers through telemedicine. We waived the normal cost-sharing associated with telemedicine services, either through your primary care physician or through a vendor that we use for remote access.
What is your outlook for healthcare moving forward? I think you’re going to continue to see significant innovation in terms of how healthcare is delivered, not only in this community but nationally. Going forward, we believe there will be a national trend in care migrating from inpatient settings to outpatient community settings, ultimately into the home. I also think you’re going to start to see more advancements in terms of remote monitoring capabilities. We’re excited about the innovation that we think is going to continue. We are extremely fortunate to be in an area with such tremendous and prominent health systems but also individual practitioners who I think are on the leading edge of some of the innovation that’s taking place in healthcare today. www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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