Bassett Healthcare Network Launches Phytel Platform to Engage Patients in Their Own Care More Effectively

DALLAS and COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Bassett Healthcare Network, one of the nation's Top 100 integrated Health Networks, has deployed a comprehensive, Web-based population health and patient engagement platform from Phytel to ensure better patient outcomes by identifying and closing gaps in care.

The integrated healthcare system, which includes six corporately affiliated hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, community and school-based health centers and health partners in related fields, also expects the Phytel platform's patient outreach capabilities will help ease the transition from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement. By getting noncompliant patients to schedule appointments for recommended care, Phytel drives fee-for-service revenue while helping physician groups prepare for meeting cost and outcome goals under value-based contracts.

"Phytel makes it easy for us to manage our high volume of patients by exception," said Frank Panzarella, Vice President of Operations for Bassett Medical Group. "Its automated processes allow us to stratify our entire patient population so we can engage patients who are most at-risk and partner with them in better managing their health. Not just the sickest patients now, but also those who are trending toward that group. By automating this work we are able to help more patients while enabling staff to focus on care delivery, both of which are critical in an outcomes-focused organization such as ours."

The Phytel platform draws data from Bassett Healthcare Network's GE Centricity Business (formerly IDX Flowcast) revenue cycle management systems in order to match patients against evidence-based care guidelines. It then identifies patients with gaps in recommended care, or those who are at high risk of acute health episodes, and engages them through automated and personal follow-up.

In addition to providing this safety net for at-risk patients, Bassett Healthcare Network will also use Phytel to help its practices sustain Level 3 NCQA recognition for Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) – a team-based model for delivering comprehensive and continuous medical care and driving better health outcomes. Phytel provides pre-validation by NCQA for PCMH recognition, enabling physician practices to automatically meet certain PCMH requirements.

"With the current focus on healthcare reform and accountable care, it is critical for health systems to ensure they are engaging patients effectively," said Steve Schelhammer, CEO of Phytel. "We are honored that Bassett Healthcare Network, one of the highest-performing health systems in New York State and the nation, is using our population health management platform to increase patient engagement, and look forward to seeing the results they achieve."

About Bassett Healthcare Network
Bassett Healthcare Network is an integrated health care system that provides care and services to people living in a 5,600 square mile region in upstate New York. The organization includes six corporately affiliated hospitals, as well as skilled nursing facilities, health centers and health partners in related fields.

Bassett Medical Center, the foundation of the network, is a 180-bed acute care inpatient teaching facility in Cooperstown, New York employing 3,000 people. The medical center offers a broad range of specialty care and maintains a strong academic program through its affiliation with Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Bassett was formally established as a medical school campus of Columbia P & S in 2009.

The Bassett Research Institute and the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, a program of the Bassett Healthcare Network, conduct clinical research and population studies, as well as provide assessment of health services, occupational challenges and other public health issues.

The Bassett Medical Group is comprised of a full-time, salaried staff numbering more than 400 physicians and other advanced practice clinicians who provide primary and specialty care at the Bassett Clinic and staff Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown. Through the Bassett Regional Network, Bassett physicians and other health professionals also provide preventive, primary and specialty outpatient care at 28 rural health clinics and 19 school-based health centers throughout nine counties. Ambulatory patient visits for the system approach 700,000 annually. For more information, visit www.bassett.org.

About Phytel
The premier company empowering physician-led population health improvement, Phytel provides physicians with proven technology to deliver timely, coordinated care to their patients. Phytel's state-of-the-art registry, which now encompasses more than 40 million patients nationwide, uses evidence-based chronic and preventive care protocols to identify and notify patients due for service, while tracking compliance and measuring quality and financial results. Phytel is ISO 9001:2008 certified, confirming adherence to ISO's internationally recognized Total Quality Management (TQM) standards. For more information, please visit www.phytel.com. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

Media Contact:
Todd SteinAmendola Communications for Phytel
916-346-4213
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Phytel