Dive Brief:
- CMS released two new patient engagement models from the CMS Innovation Center on Thursday.
- The models - the Shared Decision Making Model and the Direct Decision Support Model - will allow for shared decision-making.
- The agency's goal is to improve care, spending plans and the overall health of the Medicare population.
Dive Insight:
As the healthcare industry has been increasingly focused on getting patients to be more involved in their own care plans, data sharing has helped this become a reality. Empowering patients with health data and helping them become more active in the healthcare landscape seeks to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction.
The SDM Model tests integrating a 'Four Step' process with routine clinical practice workflows of ACO physicians. Beneficiaries in the this model will be able to discuss their treatment options for a conditions that is 'preference-sensitive' with their clinician during an in-person visit. The DDS Model attempts to engage beneficiaries outside of the clinical setting. Beneficiaries will be offered 'patient-friendly material' about their conditions and be encouraged to converse with their clinicians about treatment options.
National Coordinator for Health IT Dr. B. Vindell Washington told Healthcare Dive earlier this year that sharing health data by working with HHS' Office for Civil Rights may be the most important area of change in the agency's upcoming work.
"HHS identifies the engagement of Medicare beneficiaries as a cornerstone to achieving better care, smarter spending, and healthier people," CMS Principal Deputy Administrator and Chief Medical Officer Patrick Conway and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Director Andy B. Bindman wrote in a blog post.
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