A new study shows that changing the way insurers pay for cancer care can lower costs by 34 percent without affecting the health outcomes of the patient.
UnitedHealthcare conducted the study with five medical oncology groups around the country over a course of three years. The study covered 810 patients with breast, colon and lung cancer, which are among the most common cancers in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The pilot program compared the traditional “fee-for-service” payment model with a bundled payment model. Under the traditional fee-for-service payment model, oncologists are paid for each service they perform and drug they prescribe. Instead of rewarding quality care, the fee-for-service model tends to reward volume of care and the use of more expensive drugs.
Under the new payment system, UnitedHealthcare paid oncologists upfront for an entire cancer treatment program, based on the expected cost of a standard treatment regimen for the specific condition as predetermined by the doctor. The oncologists were paid the same fee regardless of the drugs administered to the patient – in effect, separating the oncologist’s income from drug sales while preserving the ability to maintain a regular visit schedule with the patient. Patient visits were reimbursed as usual using the fee-for-service contract rates, and chemotherapy medications were reimbursed based on the average sales price.
The oncology groups collaborated with UnitedHealthcare to develop more than 60 measures of quality and cost to compare the performance across groups and determine how to improve quality and reduce costs over the course of the study. There were no differences between the groups on the quality measures evaluated, which challenges the assumption that any reduction in resources, such as medical staff, would result in worse outcomes for patients.
Researchers evaluated the treatment regimens based on the number of emergency-room visits, incidence of complications, side effects and, most importantly, health outcomes to determine which treatment regimens do the best job of helping to fight cancer. By measuring the comparative effectiveness of different treatment options, the program aimed to uncover best practices, and identify and reduce unnecessary drug administration that does not improve the patient’s health.
The upfront fee to the oncologists covered the standard treatment period, which is typically six to 12 months. In cases of cancer recurrence, the bundled payments were renewed every four months during the course of the disease, which allowed the doctor to continue overseeing his or her patient’s care even if drug therapy was no longer effective. The payments also were continued for patients who were no longer receiving chemotherapy or who enrolled in hospice care.
This approach was designed to reward oncologists at current levels for patient care while simultaneously severing the link between drug selection and income. Physicians could earn increased episode payment by improving their patient results. UnitedHealthcare did not play a role in determining which treatment plan the oncologists chose.
With a 34 percent reduction in costs and no adverse effects on patient health, the results of the study suggest that the new cancer care payment model have the potential to benefit patients, doctors, insurers and the entire health system.
The details of the study were published in the Journal of Oncology Practice.
MORE than 7,650 NHS Wales staff have completed the first level of the national learning programme Improving Quality Together, according to new figures.
The scheme, which provides staff, contractors, managers and board members with skills that will help them improve the care delivered to patients, has been completed at the first level by 7,654 people in the past 15 months.
There are three levels to the programme, launched in March 2013, and it is led by 1,000 Lives Improvement, which is part of Public Health Wales.
Staff complete the bronze level through a series of online modules, with the silver level providing an opportunity to develop and implement improvement projects. The gold level is establishing a network of improvement coaches and there is additional training for board members.
Dr Alan Willson, director of 1,000 Lives Improvement, said: "Improving Quality Together is providing staff with the knowledge and expertise to continue improving our services, so that they are the safest and most efficient they can be.
"We are already seeing the benefits of staff speaking a common language of improvement as they work towards the same goals - improved patient experience and outcomes."
"We are delighted that so many NHS Wales staff have completed at least the bronze level of Improving Quality Together and are looking forward to even more colleagues signing up to the learning programme."
In Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, cleaner operating theatres have lead to safer care under the scheme.
Nurse Helen Dinham used the skills she learnt to reduce surgical site infections, by improving the standard practice of cleaning in orthopaedic theatres in the health board.
Improving Quality Together helped her team address the obstacles that were preventing the correct level of cleaning taking place, such as standardising equipment and amended policies.
The outcome of the project was 100% compliance with the cleaning requirements, meaning infection risks were reduced and patients would recover more quickly.
She said: "Reaching our target was very good for staff morale and has reassured patients that the quality of care and the standard of cleanliness in orthopaedic theatres is excellent."
In ABMU Health Board, they looked at improving patient flow and communication on hospital wards.
Reducing delays in a patient's journey and improving communication on hospital wards are just two of the key benefits gained from Jo Rowland's silver project in the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend.
The assistant head of physiotherapy used her Improving Quality Together training to implement daily ward rounds to discuss each patient and find out the next step needed.
Reporting back findings on a daily basis has increased efficiency and resulted in reduced lengths of stay in hospital and improved patient flow through the wards.
It has also provided a consistent approach, which has improved communication between staff, patients and their families.
Meanwhile, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has improved access to dental services for patients in prison Head of primary care service delivery Rhian Blake used her silver training to improve access to dental services for patients at Her Majesty's Prison in Cardiff. In the past 18 months the profile of the prison population had changed significantly, with more individuals on remand and shorter sentences.
As a result, many patients had incomplete dental treatment, or didn't receive the required treatment in a timely fashion.
Rhian used the programme's methodology to analyse the problem and find solutions, which included the immediate allocation of appointments when needed, and a quicker triage process. The changes led to a reduction in complaints and fewer missed appointments.
Palliative care teams help help terminally ill patients live as good a life as possible until the end.
Rebecca Roberts had never heard of palliative care two years ago when her boyfriend, "Papa" Joe Funes, begain suffering multiple organ failure. But by the end of Papa Joe's life, she was devoted to the medical process.
Dr. Matthew Katics, director of palliative medicine services at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, defines palliative care as a specialty that provides patients total care while they are enduring an often fatal illness. By definition, palliative care can treat non-terminal patients, but the lion's share of care is done during the patients final weeks or months of life.
"Total care cuts to the heart of palliative care," Katics said. "We move away from treating a disease and toward treating a person. Palliative care is not synonymous with hospice."
Palliative care is often confused with hospice, but they are not the same. Hospice allows terminally ill patients to return home to spend their final days in familiar surroundings and made comfortable. The goal of palliative medicine is to improve the quality of life for the patient, terminal or not. Palliative care is a multi-pronged approach, using physicians, psychosocial workers to treat mood, nurses skilled in this type of care, and members of the clergy and other spiritual leaders.
"Palliative care is a medical specialty directed at those with life-limiting chronic disease," said Dr. John Hausdorff, medical director of the palliative care team at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. "It focuses on providing relief from the symptoms, pain, and distress of illness, whatever the diagnosis."
Katics used an example of a patient entering the hospital for a hip replacement. The patient has suffered excruciating pain for many years and is now addicted to opiates. After the surgery, a palliative care team – the doctor, nurses and a psychosocial care worker – will help the patient explore alternative treatments for long-term pain management to get them to the point of functional recovery.
Or a patient could come into the hospital with difficulty breathing and suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. The emergency room stabalized the patient's breathing, but what about when he goes home? Then what? The palliative care team will review his medicines, talk with him, and even evaluate him for any mood disorders. COPD is a fatal disease that can take years to kill.
"We want you living as good as you can, feeling as good as you can, for the time you have," Katics said.
Papa Joe begins a journey
It was the summer of 1994 when Roberts received a call informing her that her boyfriend was en route in an ambulance from King City to Salinas with a massive head injury. When she arrived at SVMH, she didn't recognize him, she said. His head was massively swollen and his skin was the color of slate.
Thursday afternoon Roberts and Katics sat under the shade in a patio at the hospital, catching each other up on their lives since Papa Joe died two years ago.
That 1994 summer, Papa Joe was found on the ground at the base of a grandstand in a park in King City. One side of his head was horribly malformed from an impact – from what, exactly, was never established. It could have been the result of an altercation with what Roberts calls "Joe's acquaintances." But a neurosurgeon told Roberts that the pattern and severity of the injury was not consistent with a blow from a club or cane. The damage was far greater.
Nearly 20 years later, a good many in King City harbor far more nefarious believes – that Papa Joe might have been beaten, then climbed to the top of the stands to lick his wounds. It was there that Joe, who had minor run-ins with King City Police before, was tossed off the grandstand where he sustained the violent injuries to his head. Other, less dramatic, scenarios feed the rumor mill in the farming and ranching community in the deep southern part of Monterey County.
Initially no police report was written up, but when SVMH required one to proceed with treatment, Roberts said the response was, "You mean that son of a bitch is still alive?" A broadly worded report was written, where it remains an open case because it is now a homicide.
Meanwhile Joe remained in a coma, and doctors were telling Roberts he didn't have a chance of survival. But with Roberts fighting every effort to disconnect him from life support, Papa Joe continued to live. First minor moves, a hand squeeze, then one day he opened his eyes and tried to talk. A doctor came in removed the breathing tube and Joe talked with a raspy, tired voice. He also answered all the doctor's questions, who then determined he was alert and oriented. He went home, extremely disabled.
A fall re-injured the original head trauma, and the result was stroke-like symptoms. Back in the hospital he began to retain water and his kidneys began to fail. Joe was now being treated by the palliative care team and they stabilized him. That was when Roberts met Katics for the first time. Her experience with doctors was not good. In the early days she had face-to-face confrontations with a doctor who was determined to unplug his live support. Katics and his team were different.
"He's one of a kind," Roberts said. "After all those years of posturing and the sighs aimed at me, all my distrust melted away."
Katics' approach to Papa Joe
Often the gravely ill patient is the only one doctors must contend with. When families are in the mix, each member sometimes has wildly different views of the best care for their sick loved one. The facts that all must keep in mind as they approach their last days is that medical science is allowing people to live longer, but not better. Diseases that would have killed a generation ago can be contained for years. But what does the patient want?
"Is giving them more days better or just prolonging the suffering?" Katics asked. "People are complex and they have a desire to know."
When there is family involved, there are emotions and confusion. There are many paths a patient can elect to follow, but Katics and his team ensure none of the decisions are made in ignorance.
"Each path is OK as long as you are doing it with your eyes open," he said. "Part of my job is to get to clarity for the patient and family."
The sooner a patient teams with a palliative care unit the better the outcome, whatever that may be. The ideal time would be at the point of diagnosis of a serious disease, said Christine Short, director of Nursing Support Services and coordinator of the palliative medicine service at CHOMP.
"If palliative care starts at an early stage, such as upon a serious diagnosis, a thoughtful conversation can occur with the patient about what matters most and is most important to them," she said. "Our priority is to respect patients' wishes and interests, and to make sure they understand their situation well enough to make informed decisions."
In one case at CHOMP, a woman with long-term gastrointestinal issues had several surgeries and had difficulty managing ongoing pain and nausea. After dealing with the immediate medical issues, the palliative care team met with her and her husband.
The team asked her to think about the future – what interventions she wanted and who would speak for her if she couldn't. A social worker – part of any palliative care team – stepped in and helped the couple with an advanced healthcare directive, which provides instructions to medical teams for future care. Both SVMH and CHOMP palliative care teams strongly advise everyone to pick up an advanced directive from their primary physician, fill it out, have their doctor keep a copy, have the hospital file another copy, and keep a copy for you.
"Giving the couple the advanced directive prompted them to talk with their friends to arrive at clear directions to any future physician caring for them," CHOMP's Hausdorff said.
Papa Joe's goodbye
When Roberts decided there was nothing more doctors could do for her love, she made the decision to take him home. But she was surprised that there was one more thing Katics could do for them. Joe's breathing was distressed and he needed a breathing bag in the ambulance on the way home. But paramedics weren't allowed to use an ambu bag, as they are called, per ambulance company policy.
"So Dr. Katics jumped in the back of the ambulance and bagged Joe all the way home," Roberts said. "And then at home, he helped me set up all the supplies I would need to care for Joe."
His two daughters, his mother, and his grand-kids sat around his bed. He looked at Roberts with raised eyebrows in that "I'm sorry" expression, closed his eyes and died.
On Thursday, Roberts and Katics sat on the patio, at times holding hands as they talked about Joe.
Fighting back tears, Roberts told Katics that she loved Papa Joe. "We were talking and had a whole plan to move away, start a new life, and then two days later, boom, that happened."
Katics took that in for a moment, squeezed her hand and softly told her: You advocated for him, and you fought the fight that was right for him."
Health literacy is how a patient can understand and act on health information. Low health literacy affects over 90 million people in the United States. It is a crisis of understanding medical information more than a problem of access to information. Patients and families who struggle to understand health information have a difficult time following medical recommendations and are at greater risk for health problems — which, in turn, has a negative effect on health outcomes and the entire health care system.
Health information can confuse anyone. mHealth Games helps patients and caregivers better understand and act on health information.
Consider the value of this quick patient assessment -
Please complete these questions to help us understand you better. We will use this information to tailor Congestive Heart Failure education to your individual needs. You may wish to invite a family member or friend to assist you. Click the picture to launch the experience!
This fun and interactive assessment will allow you document each patient's assessment and use it to create meaningful education. mHealth Games provides analytics that allow you to "visualize" each patient's progress as they experience each objective and then master them!
Visit mHealthGames to view the entire collection of games.
We are getting ready to watch the
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This is the "iron man" of
the Olympics, what you have all been waiting for.
Natalie, I hate to interrupt but I
have just received breaking news in tonight's games, it appears the two
favorites:
Johnny Three-Scoops and Earl
Strong-Fit will not only be fighting for their individual victories tonight,
but the fate of their entire teams may lie in the outcome of this single event.
With only 3 events to go, and this
being the only event in which their respective teams have a real contender,
this could decide the gold Dr. D. If I am correct, TEAM UNFIT and TEAM HEALTH
are tied 9 to 9 in the medal count!
ALL EYES WILL BE ON THESE TWO TONIGHT!
YOU, can help TEAM HEALTH reach the
top first by correctly answering the questions!
ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?
Click the picture above to launch the game or visit us at www.mhealthgames to play!
With mHealth’s innovative patient
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the new patient experience from mHealth Games.
What are you doing to empower your patients into healthier
behaviors? What tools have you giving them to support the journey to wellness?
Traditionally, physicians have used their power of their
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Today’s delivery system is changing and evolving rapidly.
New models of care that focus on the whole patient while integrating the entire
system have greatly improved both the experience and outcome for stakeholders.
This progress is incredible, but what more can we do?
CVS released recently a study that found 70% of patients don’t
understand written medical instructions. How are you educating your patients on
the disease and treatment? How much information is made available? How do you
know if your patient read the material, and if they did – how much did they
understand?
What if we could engage our patients with more than just
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Yes, we can game our way to better health – one population
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MISSION CRITICAL SPECIAL DELIVERY (cardiovascular disease)
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“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin
HCMS
Health Care Management Systems was created to provide free, high quality, on-demand learning to all of those involved in the frontlines of healthcare!
Why?
Because we have proven that “equal access to high quality education” is the missing link in the healthcare equation. Yes, proven through a unique double blind study that you have probably never heard of…
You see, this story begins about 3 years ago on the Texas gulf coast when two unlikely partners teamed up to change the way managed care was delivered to a certain Medicare population.
The strategy was devised from a simple physics theory – to influence the greatest amount of change in the shortest amount of time possible – equal pressure must be applied in all directions.
Education was the single greatest variable that was common to all groups – so our hypothesis was built on the assumption that through simultaneous and continuous education at the point of care, we could make a measurable impact on both the cost and the experience of care!
The project was a huge success from both a financial and cultural perspective. Two years later that “little experiment” is now out funding larger markers – all without ever auditing a chart!
Lighting in a Bottle –
Okay, so our hypothesis was a success, but where do go from here? We were so amazed and excited about the outcome that we wanted to find a way to offer it to everyone – anywhere, anytime, anyplace and on any device!
So, we developed a vehicle: Global Health Care Management Systems (globalhcms.org) – an innovative learning platform that can deliver our proven education to everyone on the frontlines!
Anyone involved who wants to learn is invited to join the HCMS Academy!
To ensure that this tool will continue to be available to all of those we serve, we have teamed up with other healthcare leaders to provide employer sponsored learning as well.
A big THANK YOU to all of our partners and sponsors – without them none of this would be possible….
To find out how you can partner with us to ensure equal access to quality education email: kgifford@ermconsultinginc.com.
How Do I Sign Up?
HCMS ACADEMY-
We invite everyone currently working on the frontlines or those contemplating a new career in healthcare to register for the HCMS Academy. Register for free courses and receive certifications in Medicare Risk Adjustment, ICD-10 Coding and Rapid Practice Innovation. As a member of the Academy you are invited to join our conversation on the “Innovation X-Change.” The X-Change provides a secure, HIPPA compliant meeting space for visionaries to share ideas and collaborate on future projects. Join a group or start your own. Register today at www.globalhcms.org – What are you waiting on – it’s totally FREE!
SPONSOR E-LEARNING-
Are you involved in health care? If so, we invite you to join us in our mission! By sponsoring e-learning for your employees or industry partners you can help ensure that everyone has equal access to high quality education.
By partnering with HCMS, you extend our proven education to your organization at no cost and we are able to provide you with state of the art analytics including dashboards to track implementation and progress across large organizations in real time. This system was built on an API that accepts up to 5 data sources which potentially allows us to measure and analyze financial, educational and utilization data together for the first time. All of this at a fraction of the cost of traditional analytics.
To learn more about how we can partner for a better tomorrow, please contact: kgifford@ermconsultinginc.com
SAN DIEGO – The next time you enter an exam room without first donning your white coat or name tag, you might consider backtracking to retrieve them.
According to a survey of patients presenting to a family medicine clinic, 51% hold some opinion about your attire. "Even if they don’t admit that they care about those things, patients are picking the options of having physicians wear a white coat and having a traditional look," study author Dr. Seema Tayal said in an interview during a poster session at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "Traditional looks still matter."
"Even if they don’t admit that they care about those things, patients are picking the options of having physicians wear a white coat and having a traditional look," said Dr. Seema Tayal.
For the study, Dr. Tayal, a third-year resident in the family medicine department at the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Hospital Center, and her associates set out to determine what effects exist between the patient’s perception of a physician’s physical appearance and the patient’s compliance with medical recommendations.
They distributed anonymous questionnaires to 200 patients who presented to the practice.
More than half of respondents (59%) were between the ages of 18 and 50 years, while the remaining 41% were over age 51. The majority (69%) were female.
When asked, "Do you feel your decision to follow a physician’s advice is influenced by his/her gender?" 91% responded yes and 9% responded no.
When asked, "Do you feel your decision to follow a physician’s advice is influenced by his/her appearance?" 83% responded yes and 17% responded no.
Dr. Seema Tayal
When asked, "Do you feel your decision to follow a physician’s advice is influenced by his/her age?" 85% responded yes and 15% responded no.
When asked about the preference of a physician’s attire, 49% had no preference and 51% did. Among those who did have a preference, the appearance accessory rated as most desirable was a white coat (52%), followed by a name tag (41%), stethoscope (25%), a "clean" look (33%), scrubs (15%), dress pants (14%), a tie and dress shirt (12%), dress shoes (10%), cologne/perfume (8%), short hair (6%), and jewelry (4%).
In another part of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to choose the most professional-looking image from a set of six photographs depicting medical personnel, including one of Dr. Gregory House, the fictional physician played by actor Hugh Laurie on the "House" television series. The "winning" image depicted a clean-looking young female with short hair who wore a white coat and a stethoscope.
The researchers stated that they had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.
Some healthcare initiatives underway these days are easier to explain in succinct terms than others. Take ICD-10 and meaningful use, for example. One can be summed up as an updated coding system; the other is an effort to encourage healthcare providers to switch from paper to electronic health records.
Now take a term like "patient engagement." Yes, it's safe to call it an effort to get patients to take more responsibility for their health information. But when you try to think in more specific terms it becomes clear that those specifics vary significantly from provider to provider.
On an operational level, what this means is that providers who want to improve their "patient engagement" need to determine both what that looks like presently within their own practices, and what steps they need to take to move forward.
According to David Levin, MD, chief medical information officer at the Cleveland Clinic, a few years ago the organization's leadership took a comprehensive look at how patients engaged the its services, focusing primarily on the impacts the overall patient experience had on care outcomes.
"The result," he said, "was a series of initiatives that helped define what we wanted to do (with patient experience), as well as how to measure the impact of the changes."
Together with Lori Posk, MD, Cleveland Clinic's medical director for its MyChart personal health record, Levin recently pointed to five key changes in how patients interact with the organization, changes which, he said, have led to dramatic improvements in the patients' experience.
Open access scheduling. According to Levin, one of the earliest and biggest changes came when the decision was made to make it easier for patients to get in and see their doctors. Now, at all of Cleveland Clinic's family health centers, patients can log on through the patient portal, view their provider's entire schedule and make their own appointments.
Patient education. A key part of ensuring both patient satisfaction and ongoing engagement, Levin said, is "being sure that patients understand what's going on with them, as well as what's supposed to happen next." To that end, Cleveland Clinic creates appropriate patient educational materials, which can also be accessed online, that runs the gamut from follow-up information following individual visits to continuing care information for chronic conditions.
Open medical records policy. According to Posk, Cleveland Clinic has had an open records policy for years, but now everything is getting put online in personal health records. Moreover, since October of 2012 the organization has been rolling out increasing access to electronic patient information, beginning first with lab results,. From January to September of this year, Posk noted, 3.5 million lab results and images had been made available to patients electronically. Soon, she said, patients will also be able to review their physicians' notes online after a visit, in addition to being able to schedule follow-up appointments.
Two--way messaging via patient portal. The telephone has long been the indispensable tool for communications between doctors and patients, but now communication has been significantly expanded, as well as made considerably more convenient, with email and other electronic formats made available on the Clinic's patient portal. Levin pointed to the ease with which a variety of information can be shared in this manner, noting also that "in a world defined by healthcare reform, we see a big role for this kind of communication in coaching patients and eliminating unnecessary office visits."
Patient reported outcomes. Taking patient engagement up yet another notch, Levin said the organization has begun a series of pilot projects in which patients can enter data into their own records. This information, he said, then becomes part of the clinical workflow, enabling doctors to track their patients' progress, and potentially modify their care, between visits.
Of course, Levin and Posk noted that none of these changes would have taken place without an overall plan.
"Some of the initiatives began as experiments," Levin said, "but they're all part of a very deliberate strategy. It seems very clear to us that part of how we're going to get to better outcomes is through this kind of collaboration with patients."
Ecumen and Mojo Minnesota have teamed up to launch an international contest that seeks innovative products and services to benefit the growing aging population.
by Rebecca Omastiak
August 12, 2013
Local organizations Ecumen and Mojo Minnesota are seeking both high- and low-tech solutions to benefit people as they grow older.
Ecumen—a Shoreview-based nonprofit senior housing and services provider—and Mojo Minnesota—a Minneapolis-based cooperative consisting of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business advisors, and engineers—recently launched their inaugural AgePower Tech Search contest, inviting individuals, startups, and established companies to submit new products and services that are ready to be tested among the senior population.
The two partners said they are looking for functional prototypes that demonstrate a real-world purpose and are positioned for investor interest and commercial success.
“We’re not seeking ‘ideas’ or ‘concepts,’” Ecumen spokesman Eric Schubert told Twin Cities Business. “The submitter must be working to commercialize the technology within the next 12 months with the focus of having a broad, positive impact in life quality, profitability, job creation, and community engagement.”
Ernest Grumbles, co-founder of Mojo, told TCB that “this is not a traditional business plan contest.” Rather, he said, it’s an opportunity for innovators to “road test” their technologies.
After completing a screening process, Ecumen and Mojo plan to select roughly four finalists who will gain access to field-testing and feedback. Test environments include Ecumen’s in-home and clinical care settings, assisted living communities, and physical rehabilitation centers.
Mojo said it will lend its expertise to help finalists actualize their market potential.
In exchange for the resources Ecumen and Mojo offer, the partners receive a small equity stake (Grumbles said the working figure is 3 percent) in the finalists’ products or services.
“This search fits the sweet spots of both organizations in terms of innovation, collaboration, and helping move Minnesota forward,” Schubert said.
Since the contest opened in July, it has received 10 submissions from locations as diverse as Israel and Ireland. Schubert described one submission as a workplace collaboration tool intended to keep track of work flow and documentation among care givers; another submission outlines a community networking platform and search tool to make senior services easier to find, he said.
Products and services for the aging population represent a Minnesota market in which there is a lot of “low hanging fruit,” Grumbles said.
“There’s a whole system devoted to medical and life care in Minnesota,” he added, referencing institutions such as Mayo Clinic. “[The state] is nationally recognized for social support and old age life improvement.”
“The world’s only growing demographic is people 60-plus,” Schubert added. “It’s our country’s fastest-growing population cohort. And Minnesota has so many attributes to lead in this space.”
Using data from a 2012 United Nations report, Ecumen and Mojo said that approximately 900 million people in the world are over the age of 60 and by 2050, that number will have grown to 2.4 billion. Ecumen President and CEO Kathryn Roberts said that growth represents an opportunity to improve the aging population’s quality of life.
Schubert said the contest taps into a need for near-term care solutions for the aging population by linking human ingenuity with technology.
“Our desire is that AgePower helps locate, optimize, and launch products that link with human skill to make lives better and are commercially viable,” Schubert said. “It’s a vehicle for helping open the door to Minnesota as a global hub for innovation for longevity and wellness.”
The AgePower Tech Search contest is open to applicants until October 31. Interested candidates can apply here.
Ecumen, which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, owns or manages 55 independent-living and assisted-living communities, as well as 17 health care centers. It operates in 35 cities in Minnesota, Idaho, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. It reported $138 million in 2012 revenue and employs 3,952—3,800 of whom work in Minnesota.
Last May, Twin Cities Business cited Ecumen as an example of a business that is successfully using mentorship programs. Click here to read the story.
Mojo Minnesota, which was founded in 2010, is a cooperative of 13 individuals that mentors entrepreneurs and garners federal and state support for local startups.
They clearly have some tricks up their sleeves that would be good to share with our health services”
Dawn EckhartHealthwatch Devon
Jenny Winslade, the CCG's chief nurse, said it was a "fantastic opportunity" to partner John Lewis.
"When we buy services we focus on the needs of patients," she said.
"Customers have a great experience at John Lewis so the opportunity to partner with them is absolutely brilliant.
"It should have a great effect on how we commission health care."
There is no fee involved in the training, which is meant to be a "partnership", she said.
Kate Connock, store manager at John Lewis Exeter, said it had been a "great insight" for the firm into how a "huge organisation handles its challenges".
Ms Connock said: "It may look as if we have little in common.
"But whether private or public, our concerns and opportunities are very similar.
"These are two great organisations with a long heritage and history, but made successful by its people for its customers, so there is lots of synergy in the way we work with our teams."
Dawn Eckhart, of health watchdog Healthwatch Devon, said: "John Lewis is well respected for a good customer experience so they clearly have some tricks up their sleeves that would be good to share with our health services."
