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This monthly newsletter features insightful coverage and practical tools that you can put to work immediately in your disease management program.

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Population Health Insider

Issue 10, October 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS trumpets PGP demonstration successes

  The 10 groups participating in CMS’ Physician Group Practice (PGP) demonstration project...

• MTM program increased statin use

  Educating physicians about statins resulted in more physicians prescribing the drugs and financial...

• VillageHealth pleased with ESRD program

  Traditionally, CMS has not allowed Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to...

• College announces chronic care degree program

  A Philadelphia university will soon become the nation’s first to offer a chronic care...

• Physician practices will need DM/population health

  DM/population health organizations will experience changes and opportunities in the medical home...

• Weight loss helps type 2 diabetes patients

  Losing weight has long-range health benefits for type 2 diabetes patients—even if the person...

Issue 8, August 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Playing to good health

  The Nintendo Wii has taken the country by storm and is being promoted as a healthier alternative to...

• Study affirms connection between diabetes, depression

  Key factors in keeping diabetes under control is being active, keeping weight down, and eating...

• Care management shows benefits

  A recent study could provide a look into the future of care management. Rather than using the...

• Bringing programs together improves results

  Integrating substance abuse treatment with prenatal visits brings positive results to maternal and...

• Five questions with . Keith R. Dunleavy, MD

  Editor's note: Keith R. Dunleavy, MD, is president, CEO, and corporate director at MedAssurant...

Issue 7, July 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Medical home payment structure offered

  The advanced medical home concept has been praised by health plans, physicians, and DMAA: The Care...

• Medicare Health Support program nearing its close

  CMS' announcement that it was ending the Medicare Health Support (MHS) demonstration project caused...

• New marketing regulations proposed for SNPs

  CMS has proposed new regulations in hopes of protecting beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare...

• Study says heart failure program too costly

  A telephonic DM program for HF patients in South Central Texas was not cost-effective, but the...

• Five questions with . Mack Bryson

  Disease Management Advisor is kicking off a new feature, "Five questions with ... " this...

Issue 6, June 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Health plans bringing in DM services

  Displeased with the money they're paying to DM vendors and dissatisfied with DM's results, more...

• CMS demonstration targets younger seniors

  Five demonstration projects are accepting participants in a three-year program to gauge whether...

• More is not best

  With healthcare spending expected to reach $4 trillion annually by 2017, chronic disease accounting...

• Silverlink HealthComm Behavior Index shows disconnect

  Health plans can improve the effect of their communication to members and, in turn, drive...

• Beyond the bottom line

  A growing number of health management companies are going beyond simply measuring outcomes and are...

Issue 5, May 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Interim report shows clinical improvements for diabetes initiative

  The Diabetes Ten City Challenge (DTCC), which uses pharmacist coaches and a value-based insurance...

• First SNP for Alzheimer's disease implemented

  This is the second article in a two-part series exploring Medicare Advantage special needs plans...

• Multidisciplinary team key to chronic care

  Proof that DM/chronic care management can be effective in the older, sicker population of Medicare...

• Active seniors decrease health costs

  Being physically fit improves a person's well-being and reduces mortality, and a recent study shows...

• WellDoc pilot shows clinical improvements in diabetics

  A cell phone-based DM software program was found to improve diabetic patients' A1c levels within...

Issue 4, April 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Study: Wellness works

  A recent study of workers at health insurer Highmark, Inc., shows that a comprehensive employee...

• 'Til death do us part

  OptumHealth's recent announcement about lifetime personal health records (PHR) suggests Americans...

• CMS program offers PHRs to Medicare population

  Senior citizens and computers are not usually thought of as allies, but a new CMS pilot project is...

• SNP Medicare expansion continues

  Editor's note: This is part one of a two-part series exploring Medicare special needs plans...

• DM to the rescue?

  With the rest of the world facing many of the same chronic diseases as the United States, DM...

• Connecting with consumers

  Health plans spend $9 billion each year communicating with members, but most of it doesn't reach...

Issue 3, March 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Health centers improve diabetes care, results

  Community health centers can play a key role in reducing health disparities, but it takes more than...

• Patient-centered care critical to Medicaid programs

  States battling spiraling Medicaid costs may have a friend in DM. Two recent studies provide a...

• Industry responds to RAND report

  RAND Corporation's report that there has not been enough third-party research showing that DM saves...

• Safety net for high-risk pregnancies

  Childbirth-related expenses represent the highest health costs for many companies, and premature...

Issue 2, February 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Physicians need DM in medical home model

  There are signs that the advanced medical home concept is gaining steam: The increasing drumbeat...

• DMAA backs medical home tenets

  DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance added its voice to the advanced medical home model discussion...

• Physicians say any new payment must be aligned with services provided

  A lot has changed in the delivery of healthcare since the 1960s when Medicare was born. Now in...

• Survey-based predictive modeling goes beyond claims

  Most DM organizations use the rearview mirror approach when trying to intervene with at-risk...

Issue 1, January 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Looking into the DM crystal ball

  Editor's note: Disease Management Advisor asked DM leaders to predict what will happen in the field...

• Going mobile

  Technology has changed the way Americans bank and shop, so it makes sense that healthcare would...

• Blue Cross/Blue Shield promotes medical home demonstrations

  The concept of a medical home is taking shape in several demonstration projects that include...

• What's next for Medicare?

  Even those who closely follow the latest Medicare developments are unsure what to expect this year...

• Pharmacy program with DM component targets CKD

  The money spent to care for patients on dialysis and those with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is...

• Program brings hypertensive patients within BP ranges

  Automated telephone systems can serve as a barrier for senior citizen patients. However, a recent...

Issue 12, December 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Five questions about physicians’ role in CDHPs

  Most primary care physicians don’t understand consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) and...

• Risk-adjusted model underpays, ignores functional status

  Medicare’s capitation model does not take into account a beneficiary’s functional...

• CMS unveils two-tier medical home care management fee

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided a blueprint for the Medicare...

• Definition of the medical home tiers

  Practices will need to achieve all 17 of these requirements to be deemed a Tier 1 medical home:

• Employers favor carrot over stick

  Two-thirds of surveyed employers are offering their employees incentive programs to improve health...

• Cisco creates culture of wellness

  Cisco Systems is an example of an employer testing incentives to find what most motivates its...

Issue 11, November 3, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Wellness gains steam

  Eight of 10 major health plans and employers who responded to a DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance...

• CDHPs, wellness gain momentum

  Employers are increasingly looking to consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) and wellness programs as...

• Deliotte report trumpets possible convergence

  A relatively new healthcare player may have a future in disease management (DM), according to a...

• Most specialties see slight increase

  Physician compensation for most specialties was mostly flat in 2007, according to the American...

• Study: Most-integrated health plans in better shape

  The gulf between the most- and least-integrated health plans and healthcare systems will continue...

• LifeMasters: DM’s phoenix rises from failed merger with Healthways

  LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc., needed to do some soul-searching after a failed $307.5...