Arizona Coalition Model available to payors and providers.
News Release
For Immediate Release │ January 7, 2022
Media Contact: Holly Ward │602-445-4327 │[email protected]
PHOENIX — The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) releases a new model for home and community-based palliative care.
The Arizona Coalition Model was designed by the Arizona Coalition to Transform Serious Illness Care, a group of more than 40 stakeholders across Arizona dedicated to improving the lives of people with serious illness. A white paper prepared by Discern Health, part of Real Chemistry on behalf of AzHHA, describes the services, operational requirements and measures of success to support medical and social determinants of health needs of those with serious illness.
“This is the model for our vision of palliative care services, giving those living with chronic illness – and their caregivers – some options for symptom management or overall goals of care,” said Vicki Buchda, AzHHA Vice President of Care Improvement. “Our hope is for payors and providers to use this flexible model so we may ultimately provide better care and support to those suffering.”
As attributed in the Arizona Coalition Model report, serious illness impacts an estimated 45 million Americans and their families or caregivers. Serious illness is defined as “one or more chronic conditions that limit personal function and are likely to worsen rather than get better.” Chronic conditions and mental health cost the U.S. healthcare system nearly 90% of the $3.8 trillion annual healthcare spend.
“Working with the Arizona Coalition to design this model allowed us to leverage broad expertise and local knowledge,” said Theresa Schmidt, Vice President at Discern Health. “We also consulted published research, industry standards and national leaders, so this model is truly evidence-based.”
The Arizona Coalition Model is designed to meet the needs of people who have severe chronic conditions and unmet care needs including skilled care, uncoordinated patterns of care and/or unmet social determinants of health-related challenges.
Find the full report and Arizona Coalition Model at https://www.azhha.org/az_model.
# # #
About us:
The Arizona Coalition is a group of 40+ statewide stakeholders (e.g., Area Agencies on Aging, palliative care providers, payers) in Arizona led by the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) in collaboration with Discern Health, part of Real Chemistry, the Arizona End of Life Care Partnership, and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC). AzHHA, Discern Health, and TopSight Partners conducted research, facilitated Arizona Coalition discussions, and led the development of the Arizona Coalition Model: Home- and community-based palliative care for the seriously ill.
Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association
AzHHA is the association giving Arizona hospitals a voice to collectively build better healthcare and health for Arizonans. As the champion for healthcare leadership in Arizona, AzHHA and its member hospitals explore ideas and take collaborative action at the state capitol, in hospitals and at home to attain the best healthcare outcomes for our community. Above all else, we put people and patients first through Better Care, Better Health and Lower Costs. Visit https://www.azhha.org for more information.
Discern Health, part of Real Chemistry
Discern Health works with clients across the private and public sectors to improve health and health care. Our focus is enhancing the value of health care services through quality-based payment and delivery models that align performance with incentives to improve health outcomes while lowering total costs. Discern Health is part of Real Chemistry, a global healthcare innovation firm and independent provider of analytics-driven, digital-first research, marketing services, and communications. Visit https://www.discernhealth.com/ for more information.