Dive Brief:
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Providence St. Joseph Health on Monday announced a new for-profit population health management company called Ayin Health Solutions. The health system is the third largest non-profit system in the country, including 51 hospitals across seven states.
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Providence St. Joseph said Ayin will provide expertise and tools for payers, providers, employers and government departments looking to cut costs, improve care and transition into population health.
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Ayin will provide capabilities like a pharmacy benefits management program that partners pharmacists and physicians in a coordinated care model and a risk evaluation tool.
Dive Insight:
Providence St. Joseph is the latest in a growing trend toward population health management. Another example is Intermountain Healthcare, which is investing $12 million in hopes of improving social determinants of health (SDOH) issues in Utah. The Utah Alliance for the Determinants of Health is working with SelectHealth Medicaid members and launching demonstration projects in Ogden and St. George.
Rather than deal with clinical issues, the program focuses on factors that influence health, such as housing instability, food insecurity and transportation.
Hospitals and health systems can't tackle population health on their own. Payers, especially Medicaid, need to play a part in the effort. Payers have claims data and can create reimbursement programs that reward providers for care coordination and pay community organizations appropriately.
That's evident in accountable care organizations and managed care organizations that are working on population health as a way to contain healthcare costs, improve outcomes and enhance care coordination.
Ayin Health Solutions wants to engage with payers on population health. Rhonda Medows, CEO of Ayin Health Solutions and president of population health at Providence St. Joseph, said in a statement the new company will extend the health system's "knowledge and value-based care proficiencies" to payers and companies outside of the system.
Providence St. Joseph said Ayin is a piece of the system's "broader vision of health."
"This vision recognizes the current state of the healthcare industry and the need for modernization, revenue diversification and cost-efficient, total healthcare. Ayin will enable PSJH to achieve its bold vision by delivering solutions that will help other organizations improve clinical outcomes, simplify patient access to information, lower healthcare costs and meet payer and business requirements," the company said.
Ayin will also have an employee health benefits service that "tailors benefits program to an organization's needs." Providence St. Joseph said the employee service can help save costs, improve wellness and reduce absenteeism.