TAMPA, Fla. – Moffitt Cancer Center and Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today a collaboration to create an oncology medical home that is designed to improve the care experience for cancer patients. Within an oncology medical home model, teams of cancer specialists collectively provide for a patient’s health care when he or she has a cancer diagnosis. The model will give Moffitt the responsibility to arrange for appropriate care that is continuous and proactive.
“Through this relationship Moffitt will be able to transform quality of care for our patients,” explained Jack Kolosky, executive vice president, chief operating officer of Moffitt. “The oncology medical home will enable Moffitt to provide personalized care to patients that is more effective and efficient.”
The model is part of a strategic direction to transition from fee-for-service medicine to value-based payment. Value-based arrangements are emerging as a solution to address rising health care costs, clinical inefficiency and duplication of services, and to make it easier for people to get the care they need. In value-based models, doctors and hospitals are paid for helping keep people healthy and for improving the health of those who have chronic conditions in an evidence-based, cost-effective way.
“The collaboration between Aetna and Moffitt Cancer Center will help define the value of care and serve as a model for value-based arrangements with similar institutions,” said Michael Kolodziej, M.D., Aetna’s national medical director for Oncology Solutions.
The operating principles of the Moffitt and Aetna oncology medical home include:
- An orientation to the whole person. A Moffitt personal physician will be responsible for providing or arranging for all of a patient’s health care needs with other qualified professionals. This includes care for all stages of treatment: acute care, chronic care, preventive services and end-of-life care.
- Evidence-based, personalized medical care. The Moffitt team will focus on designing treatment regimens based on current medical evidence for each unique disease presentation, patient-specific factors and patient choice by utilizing Moffitt’s Clinical Pathways, which were designed by teams of surgeons, medical oncologists, hematologists and radiation oncologists to improve quality and outcomes.
- Coordinated and integrated care. Across all elements of the complex health system, care will be facilitated to enable Aetna members to get the appropriate care when and where it is needed and wanted, in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.
- Quality and safety. Quality and safety will be a focus of care, including use of evidence-based medicine (such as those provided in Moffitt’s Clinical Pathways), clinical decision support tools and accountability for continuous quality improvement.
- Enhanced access to care. Care will be available through systems such as open scheduling, expanded hours and new options for communication between Aetna members, their personal physicians and hospital staff.
The oncology medical home arrangement began in February.
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Located in Tampa, Moffitt is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is the top-ranked cancer hospital in Florida and has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the “Best Hospitals” for cancer care since 1999. With more than 4,600 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $1.9 billion. For more information, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 46 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com and learn about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews
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