HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

As groups throughout the health care system begin to create Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced results of a collaborative relationship with NovaHealth, the independent physician association founded by InterMed, based in Portland, Maine. The September edition of Health Affairs, which focuses on payment reform in the health care system, features the results.

Since 2008, NovaHealth doctors participating in Aetnas Medicare Provider Collaboration program haveprovided care to approximately750 Aetna Medicare Advantage members. Through the program, Aetna and NovaHealth have achieved two main goals of ACOs: improving quality of care and lowering health care costs. The most recent results from 2011 show that:

We are working more effectively and efficiently with outstanding health care providers like NovaHealth. Now, we have demonstrated that we can help improve the coordination and quality of care and reduce health care costs, said Randall Krakauer, MD, FACP, FACR, Aetnas national Medicare medical director. Aetna believes patient-centered collaboratives are a stepping stone to Accountable Care Organizations, which further align financial incentives with high quality, more efficient care.

Coordinated Care Helps Improve Health Outcomes

Aetnas Provider Collaboration program has also demonstrated positive results with population health management. Through the Provider Collaboration program, NovaHealth has met a number of clinical quality metrics agreed upon by both sides, including:

Aetna provides NovaHealth with reports showing quality and efficiency measures at the individual member and population level.

By aligning our clinical goals and sharing data, we can help improve health outcomes for the patients that we serve, said Thomas Claffey, M.D., the medical director of NovaHealth. Working together, we can help confirm that our patients are receiving the right care at the right time and support them as they try to be as healthy as possible.

Program Improves Member Experience

The role of the Aetna nurse case manager is a major component of the collaborative relationship with NovaHealth. This nurse case manager is embedded with NovaHealth, serving as a single point of contact and working directly with NovaHealths clinical staff to help coordinate care for Aetna Medicare Advantage members.

More here:

Aetna and NovaHealth Work Together to Reduce Hospitalizations, Lower Costs for Medicare Advantage Members