Shah said senior patients receiving care at Dedicated centers experience 50 percent fewer hospital admissions compared with a standard primary-care practice, 28 percent lower per-member costs and significantly higher use of evidence-based medications than the comparable averages for Medicare beneficiaries.
One of the keys to managing patient care, said Shah, is that Dedicated’s providers average 200 to 250 minutes per year seeing each member, including an evaluation for physical, behavioral and social service needs. The average Medicare Advantage member sees his or her doctor an average of 20 minutes per visit, he said.
Duane DiFranco, Blue Cross’ vice president of medical management and senior health services, said care will be coordinated with the members’ existing primary care doctors or federally qualified health centers, if they have them.
Statewide, Blue Cross has approximately 140,000 members in individual Medicare Advantage plans, said DiFranco, adding that the members serviced by ChenMed would be