WeCare tlc participates in national report highlighting the importance of advanced primary care

WeCare tlc served as a key contributor to the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions report

WeCare tlc was one of five leading primary care organizations to participate in a newly released report from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.

The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (NAHPC) is a nonprofit network of business coalitions, dedicated to driving innovation, health and value along with its coalition members through the collective action of public and private purchasers. The NAHPC represents more than 12,000 purchasers and 45 million Americans, spending more than $300 billion annually on healthcare.

The NAHPC report, Achieving Value through Advanced Primary Care, is the result of a nationwide study to identify the key advanced primary care strategies that companies should consider to improve patient health outcomes and increase employer value.

The deep dive analysis was performed by completing an exhaustive review of clinical and operational models. As a key contributor to the report, we sent our data and performance results to NAHPC’s team of independent industry analysts to complete the study.

Key findings

The report identifies what purchasers and health plans should consider when investing in an advanced primary care strategy. 

When properly structured and reimbursed, advanced primary care (APC) is critical to lowering healthcare costs and improving health. To accomplish this, the NAHPC identified the following APC attributes:

• Enhanced Access for Patients – Offer convenient access, same day appointments, walk-ins, virtual access and remove financial barriers to primary care.

• More Time with Patients – Improve patient engagement and support, shared decision-making and understanding of impact of social determinants of health.

• Realigned Payment Methods – Focus on patient-centered experience and outcomes, quality and efficiency metrics, and deemphasize visit volume.

• Organizational & Infrastructure Backbone – Identify relevant analytics, reporting and communication, and ensure continuous staff training.

• Behavioral Health Integration – Even more critical in the current COVID-19 environment, screen for behavioral health concerns (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use disorder) and coordination of care.

• Disciplined Focus on Health Improvement – Manage risk stratification and population health, ensure a systematic approach to gaps in care.

• Referral Management – Establish more limited, appropriate and high-quality referral practices, coordination and reintegration of patient care.

You can learn more in the NAHPC press release. You can also download the full report here.

The importance of advanced primary care

With the right advanced primary care strategies in place, employers can optimize the delivery of care to their workforce, to drive value and improve health.

What we’ve also seen is that there’s an increased need for organizations to select advanced primary care, especially in light of the changes accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While employers have always sought value for their health benefit dollars, the unprecedented revenue loss and business disruption for so many due to COVID-19 adds an even greater urgency to maximize the return on investment for their healthcare spend,” said Michael Thompson, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.

“Optimally, advanced primary care programs can save employers as much as 15% of their overall healthcare costs while also providing a steady source of income to these critically important providers.”

Our approach to advanced primary care

As part of our mission to change the way healthcare is delivered in the US, we’re committed to setting the standard for what is considered advanced primary care. We are proud to offer advanced primary care that fully aligns with the key attributes laid out in the NAHPC report.

As we continue to expand across the nation, we’re also continuing to expand the breadth of our healthcare services. In addition to 54 health center locations providing advanced primary care for over 68,000 members, we recently announced the launch of CommunityCare: an innovative healthcare initiative which offers access to APC services to friends and family of current health center members, local small businesses and other community members at one flat rate.

If you’d like to learn more about our advanced primary care services, please contact us today.