AJMC® in the Press, January 20, 2017

A Patient Engagement HIT article highlighted a Letter to the Editor published in the most recent issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®). In the letter, titled “Patient-Centered Care: Turning the Rhetoric Into Reality,” the authors discussed insights from their interviews with 15 leaders of accountable care organizations (ACOs). The Patient Engagement HIT article said that these interviews “revealed a disconnect between practical patient engagement efforts and those called for by policymakers.”

Sarah C. Threnhauser, MPA, began an executive briefing for OPEN MINDS by declaring, “Here is something I’ve long believed: consumer experience in healthcare matters more than anyone suspects.” She then cited “Drivers of Patient Experience in Medicaid Managed Care,” an AJMC^® article by contributor Jeff Blake, MBA. Threnhauser wrote that Blake’s piece “gave real credence to this idea—showing the connection between a positive customer experience and the bottom line.”

HealthPayer Intelligence published a list of “Top 3 Reasons to Partner With Accountable Care Organizations” that referenced an Evidence-Based Diabetes Management^™ article, “Diabetes Educators in Accountable Care Organizations: Meeting Quality Measures Through Diabetes Self-Management Education and Care Coordination.” According to the list, the study indicated that “ACOs and primary care centers can use Diabetes Self-Management Education to teach patients to incorporate a healthy diet, medication management techniques, physical fitness, and disease monitoring.”