Alabama Behavioral Healthcare Provider Selects MCG to Support Utilization Review and Help Move Patients Toward Health

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Business Weekly -- AltaPointe Health Systems has implemented Behavioral Health Care guidelines and interactive solutions from MCG (part of the Hearst Health network) to provide guidance to the AltaPointe utilization review staff. Through transparent assessment of the latest research and scholarly articles, MCG solutions help AltaPointe verify the most effective level of care for each patient, monitor that care over the patient lifecycle, and identify care variances at the clinician level.

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnvar/20140218/SF66746LOGO

"AltaPointe Health Systems offers a full continuum of care, which allows us to effectively treat our patients in the least restrictive, clinically appropriate setting therefore reducing overutilization of services," said Milton Burke, AltaPointe Chief Quality Officer. "MCG solutions help solve this challenge by enabling us to determine whether patients meet the criteria for the different levels of care within our organization. Through the use of MCG care guidelines we are also better able to monitor the consumer's care over the time, noting variances in order to evaluate the practice of our clinicians."

The capabilities provided by MCG solutions are particularly beneficial for AltaPointe because the organization is a healthcare provider and an authorizing entity for Medicaid. Behavioral Health Care guidelines help AltaPointe make behavioral health management more efficient and to streamline the process for meeting mental health parity requirements. AltaPointe can also more easily manage psychological, behavioral and pharmacologic therapies.

"As we prepare to comply with the Alabama Medicaid Managed Model that formally goes into effect in October 2016, MCG care guidelines will help us ensure that we meet the standards of this program for conducting utilization reviews," Burke added.

MCG care guidelines also play a critical role given that AltaPointe provides care to many patients who receive services on a no-pay basis for extended timeframes. To operate profitably while still providing the necessary level of care, AltaPointe must proactively identify the point at which patients meet the criteria to transition their level of care - such as moving from in-patient care at the hospital to an intermediate behavioral health care facility or at-home care.

Jon Shreve, president of MCG, added, "By determining the ideal setting in which each patient receives care, AltaPointe enables patients to live their lives as normally as possible in a safe, healthy way. We value the opportunity to partner with AltaPointe in helping them move patients toward health."

Keywords for this news article include: MCG, Medicaid, Health Policy.

Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2015, NewsRx LLC