San Francisco Coalition Aims To Reduce Costs, Improve Patient Care

Blue Shield of California, hospitals and other health care providers have established an accountable care organization in the San Francisco area that aims to reduce costs and improve patient care for about 26,000 public employees, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Details of the Model

The San Francisco collaboration began this summer. Members of the coalition include:

• Blue Shield of California;
• Brown & Toland Physicians;
• California Pacific Medical Center;
• Hill Physicians Medical Group;
• UC-San Francisco; and
• Two Catholic Healthcare West facilities.

Members of the coalition agreed not to raise members' health care premiums for at least the existing one-year contract, even at their own financial expense.

The collaboration follows the lead of a similar project in the Sacramento area that launched in 2010. That model sought to:

• Address issues involving the coordination of patient care;
• Determine which medical procedures are performed most often; and
• Offer patients less invasive treatment options.

After one year, the Sacramento model reduced by 15% hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge and reduced by 50% the number of hospital stays of at least 20 days.

The Chronicle story was produced by the California HealthCare Foundation's Center for Health Reporting. CHCF is the publisher of California Healthline (Bazar, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/5).