VSHC News VisualMED Joins Partners for Community
Post# of 144503
VSHC News VisualMED Joins Partners for Community-Based Care Transition Program
2012-04-19 08:00 ET - News Release
RENO, NV -- (Marketwire) -- 04/19/12
VisualMED Clinical Solutions Corp. (The "Company") (PINKSHEETS: VMCS) (FRANKFURT: VA6) announces it has formed a further partnership with The Maryland Center at Bowie State University, Inc., and Intelaform, market leaders in healthcare information and communications, to develop a Community-Based Care Transition Program (CCTP) for the state of Maryland.
Care transitions occur when a patient moves from one health care setting to another. In the instance that people living with serious illnesses move from the hospital to home or a nursing center, they may be at risk for readmission to the hospital if they develop a complication.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has launched an initiative to reduce hospital readmissions by 20% by 2013. To begin with, the agency plans to spend $500 million -- or half of the $1 billion earmarked in the Affordable Care Act for improving patient safety -- to help hospitals and their community partners decrease readmissions over a five year period ending in 2016. The Maryland Center Transition Care Program (The Program) will focus specifically on the needs of elderly patients transitioning from a hospital setting back to the home environment.
According to a 2007 report of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, readmissions to the hospital are estimated to cost Medicare approximately $15 billion, nearly $12 billion of which is for causes considered preventable. In Maryland, hospital readmissions are estimated to cost $300 million annually. The Program is designed to assist the patient during the critical transition period and thereby significantly decrease the number of preventable hospitalizations.
The Maryland Center, an affiliated foundation of the University System of Maryland, has as its charter to eliminate disparities, including those in health, and simultaneously enhance research and development on behalf of Bowie State University. Its new public/private partnership with VisualMED Clinical Solutions Corp. and Intelaform, Inc. will have as a primary goal the development of a CCTP. The initial program will focus on Maryland, and could be expanded across the entire National Capital Region.
The MD Center CCTP is the first of its kind in Maryland. The program will focus on five key areas for aging patients; cardiovascular, diabetes, urological, pulmonary, and dermatological; and seek significant reductions in each.
This program is unique among CCTP programs in that it will provide patient surveillance and "concierge" services to transitioning patients and will integrate the latest technologies in managing health information to enhance the capabilities of all involved parties -- hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers -- to respond to the needs of the transitioning patient.