News in brief - July 11, 2011

EMRs make care coordination easier for diabetes, heart disease patients - UnitedHealth Group fined over alleged takeover of Nevada competitor

EMRs make care coordination easier for diabetes, heart disease patients

A study released by the eHealth Initiative found use of an electronic medical record in primary care medical homes resulted in improved care coordination among patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

For the study, 119 patients with diabetes and heart disease from two pilot testing sites were tracked over six months. Each site had an EMR and a care coordinator on staff.

Through use of an EMR, the sites were able to demonstrate improvements in care planning, physician-patient communication, intra-office coordination, enhanced use of the EMR, enhanced patient coaching, and improvements in referring patients to specialists. The study also identified health information exchange issues that needed to be addressed.

"We knew going into this project that interaction between caregivers and patients was important, but our observations at the two test sites drove home the fact that care coordination requires ongoing and explicit three-way communication between patient, primary care physician and specialist in order to be successful and sustainable," said Jennifer Covich Bordenick, chief executive officer of the eHealth Initiative.

UnitedHealth Group fined over alleged takeover of Nevada competitor

The Nevada attorney general has fined UnitedHealth group $1 million for allegedly violating an agreement it reached in 2008 when it purchased Nevada-based Sierra Healthcare.

As a condition of the Sierra purchase, United was barred from buying or entering into a joint venture with Fiserv of Nevada, a health plan that runs benefits for large, self-insured employers.

Instead of purchasing Fiserv outright, United took on all but one of Fiserv's customers in Nevada then bought Fiserv's operations, down to its employees and offices, according to a June 23 announcement from the state attorney general's office. Eventually, Fiserv gave up its license to operate in Nevada.

United did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to pay the fine.

"We felt it was important to reach a mutual agreement on this issue so we can move forward with our positive working relationship with the Nevada attorney general's office and continue to focus our efforts on providing quality service to our Nevada customers," a company statement said.