Earlier today I participated in the North Carolina Institute of Medicine's annual meeting where a significant new private-public partnership was announced by North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services Lanier Cansler.
GSK is part of this new initiative called "First in Health." It's aimed at demonstrating how the "medical home" approach and health information technology can improve care for people with chronic diseases--and hold down the cost of providing that care.
The partnership is being led by Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC). CCNC is a nonprofit known for providing North Carolina's Medicaid program with on-the-ground care management, health information technology infrastructure and population-based health initiatives that have improved quality and saved Medicaid nearly $1.5 billion over just three years. CCNC's performance is in the top 10 percent nationally in HEDIS measures for diabetes, asthma and heart disease, compared to private Medicaid managed care organizations. If you'd like to learn more about CCNC and learn from its experience, take a look at its tool kit.
Now, we are joining with the pharmacy chain Kerr Drug, SAS, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and the State of North Carolina Health Plan in an effort to realize similar quality and cost-saving benefits for our employees, their dependents and our retirees. The objective is to show that by changing the way care is delivered and by increasing the focus on managing chronic diseases, which account for 75% of the nation's healthcare spending, outcomes can be improved and costs can be reduced. To evaluate the program's impact on cost and quality, the Brookings Institution will be performing an analysis.
At GSK, we're excited because we think the First in Health model with its emphasis on a medical home, effective use of health information technology and care coordination will make an important contribution to improving health and keeping benefits affordable.
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