A new joint venture between Philadelphia-based Independence Blue Cross and DaVita HealthCare Partners, called Tandigm Health, will work with physicians in the Philadelphia area to help them provide better coordinated care while lowering the cost of healthcare in the region.
The company will provide analytical tools real-time data to primary care physicians to help them and their patients better manage chronic conditions. Together as Tandigm Health, IBX and HealthCare Partners will "work in tandem with primary care physicians to create a new paradigm of high-quality, affordable healthcare," said Daniel Hilferty, president and CEO of IBX, in a news release. The company is looking for success in three areas, he says: a more personalized healthcare experience for patients and physicians, better health outcomes and more affordable care.
DaVita HealthCare Partners is the parent company of Denver-based DaVita, a leading provider of kidney care services, and Torrance, Calif.-based HealthCare Partners, an operator of medical groups and physician networks. DaVita and HealthCare Partners merged in 2012 in a $4.42 billion deal.
Tandigm Health hopes to have a network of 300 primary care physicians when it officially launches Jan. 1, 2015, said Anthony Coletta, MD, Tandigm president and CEO, in a Tuesday conference call. The goal in the next five years is to have somewhere from 500 to 700 physicians in the network.
"Tandigm Health will reward doctors for the quality of care they provide, not the quantity of care," Craig Samitt, MD, CEO of HealthCare Partners, said in the release. "This creates an incentive system based on improving quality and lowering costs that benefits everyone: patients, doctors, hospitals and the community."
The joint venture will go at-risk for the cost and quality of care delivered to patients attributed to the company. However, IBX and DaVita officials shied from calling it an accountable care organization or patient-centered medical home. Dr. Coletta likened the company to "building the neighborhood or homeowners association," like a PCMH on a larger scale.
HealthCare Partners and IBX each bring distinct expertise to Tandigm Health that will help the joint venture be successful. For example, IBX brings member and physician relationships in the market, as well as an expertise in managing insurance, Dr. Coletta said.
On the other hand, HealthCare Partners, which serves 765,000 patients in five states, brings three primary areas of expertise, according to Dr. Samitt. The medical group operator has experience developing and deploying integrated clinical programs to deliver better care at a lower cost; leading partnerships between primary care physicians, specialist and hospitals; and deploying population health management technologies, he said.