HCMS Group
HCMS Group

Gardner addressed Montana Legislative Select Committee on Efficiency in Government January 10, 2012

Written on February 13, 2012 by in News

Helena, MT – January 11, 2012 - The Select Committee on the Efficiency in Government which was created by the 2011 Legislature hosted Dr. Hank Gardner, CEO of HCMS Group at an interim meeting Tuesday, January 10 from 8:00-9:00 am in Room 102 at the Capitol.

Committee Chair Sen. Jon Sonju (R) Kalispell invited Dr. Gardner to present after he provoked and impressed both Democrat and Republican Legislators at the 5th Montana HealthCare Forum Conference on November 1st in Helena.

Several intrigued healthcare stakeholders who attended the Forum also urged committee members to bring Dr. Gardner back to Helena to discuss the Wyoming Health Information Network (WHIN), a data analytics public-private partnership, used by the State of Wyoming to discover the opportunity for a different approach (sometimes called disruptive innovation) to improve quality and reduce cost for Wyoming social welfare services to individuals and families, including Medicaid.

The new approach started in 2005 resulted in a cross-agency integrated intervention program Healthy Families Succeed (HFS) which defines the path to self-sufficiency by focusing on the real factors that define well-being, such as physical and mental health, attitude/motivation, skills, income and community supports.

The comprehensive WHIN analysis included data from multiple state agencies and assistance programs (SNAP, unemployment, Medicaid, child care, power, job training, vocational rehabilitation and work compensation) and supported a new clinical prevention service to Medicaid patients through a person-family centric, in-home a pilot program called Healthy Families Succeed.

HFS has reduced state services cost by an average $3,948 per client. This included a 93% reduction in monthly work comp use, 55% decrease in unemployment costs and 50% lower Medicaid costs. Cumulative program savings are $3,805,872 and the ROI for is $1,805,572 or $.90 per $1.00 invested.

HFS clients self-reported a 38.5% increase in self-sufficiency and in the past four months a 26.6% increase of household earnings and a 52.5% average increase in take home earnings.

According to Dr. Gardner “when 5% of people use 50% or more of health & welfare benefits (whether government or employer provided) there is both a cost and a quality problem (the USA spends 30% more but has 30% less in health outcomes than comparable countries) that can be solved with the right information at the right time for the right solution and HFS strives to do this.”

Not only do provider and insurance access issues exist in healthcare but overutilization (and subsequent elevated costs) and quality problems also undermine universal access and coverage. Dr. Gardner notes that “the over-utilization cost and quality problem, driven by flawed financial incentives (mostly created by third party administrators and government) both to health service consumers and providers, not only puts the 5% high cost people at risk but uses resources needed for prevention and primary care for the 95%.“

Healthy Families Succeed (HFS) has received the 2009 Innovations in Government Award from the Council of State Governments as well as the 2010 ASH Institute Innovations in Government Award.

 

The Montana HealthCare Forum

Convener: Joan Miles

Contact info: 406-457-8015 or joan@mtha.org

montanahealthcareforum.com

The Montana HealthCare Forum is the largest and most diverse network of stakeholders and the public who are interested in health care policy and reform in Montana. Started in 2007, the Forum includes representatives from consumers, advocacy groups, health care organizations, legislators, public health, business, education, providers, hospitals and medical centers, insurers, and government entities.

Our mission is to develop innovative changes to the health care system in Montana through the engagement of stakeholders across Big Sky country.

The Forum hosts an annual conference where a variety of out-of-state and in-state health care experts share their knowledge, innovations, successes and lessons learned. Hank Gardner was one of 11 speakers on November 1st, 2011 in Helena at the Great Northern Best Western Premier Hotel.

Select Committee on the Efficiency in Government

Committee Chair: Jon Sonju

PO BOX 2954

KALISPELL, MT 59903-2954

(406) 270-7113

The Select Committee on Efficiency in Government is joint bipartisan committee of the Legislature that will meet during the 2011-12 legislative interim. It was created by House Bill No. 642 (2011) and is commissioned to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of state government in four broad areas: budgeting; health care; technology; and natural resources.

http://leg.mt.gov/css/Committees/interim/2011-2012/Efficiency-in-Government/default.asp

 

Senator Mary Caferro

406-461-6266

607 N DAVIS ST

HELENA, MT 59601-3737

 

###

 

 

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Needle Utilization Statistics in the United States

Written on January 3, 2012 by in News, Research

HCMS Group has recently partnered with the Coalition for Safe Needle Disposal on a research project to assess the number of needles being used annually in the United States. The research suggests that approximately 13.5 million people in the United States are discarding 7.8 billion used needles each year (outside of hospitals, doctor offices, etc). That’s nearly a 100 percent increase from a decade ago, resulting in an increased risk of needle-stick injuries for the general population. Accompanying research indicates that the United States is spending over a $100 million each year treating such injuries, resulting in a significant and growing social health problem.

See the following press release for more information: Americans Discard 7.8 Billion Needles Every Year

Lead analyst with HCMS Group for this project:  Justin Schaneman, Co-Director Data Analytics.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Pacific Gas and Electric(PG&E) and HCMS Collaborate on DMEC Presentation

Written on August 3, 2011 by in News

Cheyenne, WY – August 3, 2011 – HCMS Group profiled its work with Pacific Gas and Electric(PG&E) during a tandem presentation from Maria Henderson, CPDM, Senior Director, Workforce Health and Productivity of Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Harold H. Gardner, M.D., Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of HCMS Group, at the 16th Annual International Conference DMEC 2011, Absence & Disability Management Strategies for Today’s Workforce, Aug 3 at the Fairmont in Dallas, Texas.

http://www.dmec.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=460

August 3, 2011 General Session, 8:00 am to 9:00 am, Unleashing the Power of Integrated Data

PG&E and HCMS have built an integrated data warehouse that may be unparalleled in the industry. By combining 33 data sources ranging from medical, disability, absence, safety, engagement surveys, compensation, performance, fitness for duty, return to work and more, PG&E can truly see the big picture. Hear the lessons learned from presenting integrated disability and absence data to operational leadership; how an integrated health related lost time metric is being used to quantify the business impacts of absence, how data provided decision support to launch two innovative health and productivity programs; and how data has been instrumental in joint union collaborations around new health care benefits design.

Speakers

Maria Henderson
CPDM, Senior Director, Workforce Health and
Productivity, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Harold Gardner
Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer,
Human Capital Management Services Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

###

For more information, contact:

Media Coordinator
HCMS Group
307-638-0015
media@hcmsgroup.com

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

HCMS Group Investigates Moral Hazard and Benefits Consumption Capital in Program Overlap: The Case of Workers Compensation

Written on May 31, 2011 by in News, Promotion

Moral hazard is the economic principal describing the tendency of consumers to use more services when someone else is paying the bill. The recent Foundations and Trends® in Microeconomics edition featured a moral hazard article published by Richard J. Butler and HCMS Group CEO Harold H. Gardner, MD.  The article discusses how moral hazard affects benefit consumption from two directions: 1) how insurance changes in one program (workers compensation) affects employee participation in other programs (disability benefits) at a point in time (inter-program moral hazard), and 2) how the consumption of program benefits now tends to affect employees behavior over time (benefits consumption capital).

A formal model is presented of inter-program moral hazard based on workers compensation with programs overlapping it (including sick leave/disability, health insurance, and unemployment insurance) and review of research evidence of the overlap response is shown. We also provide new evidence on benefits consumption capital concerning workers compensation based on data gathered from large private employers in the US.

Copies of the article can be obtained at http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/0700000037.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

HCMS Group Research Presented at ISPOR 16th Annual International Meeting

Written on May 26, 2011 by in News, Research

HCMS Group research was featured in two poster presentations at the ISPOR 16th Annual International meeting.  The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) posters were presented by The JeSTARx Group and were entitled “The Likelihood of Having Functional Dyspepsia Based on Other Comorbid Conditions” and “Comparison of Direct Medical Costs and Services by Point of Service and Prescription Cost for Persons with Hepatitis-C with and without Treatment.”

Citations for the posters:

Brook RA, Talley NJ, Choung RS, Smeeding J, Kleinman NL.  The Likelihood of Having Functional Dyspepsia Based on Other Comorbid Conditions.  Poster Presentation at the ISPOR 16th Annual International Meeting, May 25, 2011, Baltimore, MD.  Poster PGI3.

Brook R, Kleinman N, Smeeding J.  Comparison of Direct Medical Costs and Services by Point of Service and Prescription Cost for Persons with Hepatitis-C with and without Treatment.  Poster Presentation at the ISPOR 16th Annual International Meeting, May 25, 2011, Baltimore, MD.  Poster PGI9.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

HCMS Research Featured at EULAR

Written on May 20, 2011 by in News, Research

A poster featuring HCMS research entitled “IMPACT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS ON HEALTH CARE COSTS AND WORK PRODUCTIVITY: A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT WITH DIABETES AND DEPRESSION” was presented during a poster tour at the 2011 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Congress May 26, 2011 in London.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

HCMS Study Supports Early Detection of Chronic Disease Through Eye Care

Written on April 27, 2011 by in News
Rancho Cordova, CA – April 19, 2011 – A new study released today shows that eye exams are often the first to detect chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. The study, conducted by Human Capital Management Services Group (HCMS), a national human capital consulting firm, found that eye doctors detected signs of certain chronic conditions before any other healthcare provider recorded the condition—65 percent of the time for high cholesterol, 20 percent of the time for diabetes, and 30 percent of the time for hypertension.

 

Read the full news release here.

 

 

 

1 Comment - Leave a comment!

HCMS Group Publishes Cardiac Ablation Therapy Research

Written on April 16, 2011 by in News, Research

The Health and Human Capital Foundation, the research affiliate of the HCMS Group, and Biosense Webster have recently published an article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine entitled “Economic Impact to Employers of Treatment Options for Cardiac Arrhythmias in the US Health System.”  Using the broad array of data found in the HCMS Research Reference Database, this study measured employer-sponsored costs after ablation therapy for cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation. Employees and spouses who had cardiac arrhythmias with and without ablation were compared. Regression-adjusted monthly medical, pharmacy, sick leave, and short-term disability costs were calculated 11 months before to 36 months after the first ablation date (or average date for non-ablation patients). From these cost estimates, we were able to calculate the time until the ablation procedure costs were recovered.

The study found that few arrhythmia patients received ablation therapy (280 of 11,291 patients, or 2.5%). However, the patients with ablation cost less afterwards than those without. Estimated total ablation-period costs were recovered 38 to 50 months after the ablation treatment, a time frame well within the average tenure of the employees in the study.  Also, employee absence payments during the time of the treatment were recovered within only 18 months. The study provides evidence showing that current ablation use in employer-sponsored health plans may improve health care and absence costs over time.

Read more about this research at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21407098.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

HCMS Group Publishes Fibromyalgia Treatment Research

Written on April 14, 2011 by in News, Research

Along with our client Pfizer, The Health as Human Capital Foundation, the research affiliate of the HCMS Group, recently published a paper in the journal, Pain Practice, entitled “Health Outcomes and Costs among Employees with Fibromyalgia Treated with Pregabalin vs. Standard of Care.” 

Using the HCMS Research Reference Database, which contains a wide range of information on over 2 million people, the research compared the clinical and lost time experience of employees taking pregabalin versus employees who took any of three standard-of-care anti-depressants (amitriptyline, duloxetine, or venlafaxine) for the treatment of their fibromyalgia.  The research also compared use of related medications, prevalence of comorbidities, overall medical and pharmacy costs, sick leave and disability costs and days absent from work, as well as medication adherence and persistence. The research additionally measured the impact of the employees’ prescription drug co-pay on medication adherence after controlling for each employee’s salary.

Read more about “Health Outcomes and Costs among Employees with Fibromyalgia Treated with Pregabalin vs. Standard of Care” at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=21392253

1 Comment - Leave a comment!

Healthy Families Succeed Recognized by Harvard

Written on March 29, 2011 by in News

 
March 29, 2011 – Cheyenne, WY – Today, Wyoming’s Healthy Families Succeed was recognized as one of 36 premiere national initiatives focusing on innovation in government.  The Innovations in American Government Awards Program of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, has recognized Wyoming’s Healthy Families Succeed as a Bright Idea recipient. The voluntary program teams the State of Wyoming with Cheyenne-based HCMS Group to identify families who need health education and job skill development.  HFS delivers tailored services teaching residents how to become self-reliant.  Hank Gardner, MD, President and Managing Partner of HCMS Group said, “Healthy Families Succeed is about jobs.  The coordinated health education and job/life skill development conducted through HFS prepares Wyoming families for employment leading toward self-sufficiency. HCMS is proud to team with the State of Wyoming to implement this unique data-driven program.”

Partnering with the State of Wyoming, HCMS applies its data analytics methods to help Healthy Families Succeed identify the families most in need of health education and job skill development and works with the State of Wyoming to deliver services critical to moving families toward self-sufficiency.  Gardner said, “When we were able to show 3% of the state assistance recipients were using 42% of the social service resources, we worked with the State to create a solution for the overuse of services, and Healthy Families Succeed was born.”

Healthy Families Succeed is a voluntary program that coordinates social services for Wyoming families.  This “one-stop shop” tailors local, state and federal resources to each family’s situation and delivers services more efficiently than assisting families through multiple state agency offices.

Gardner said, “Healthy Families Succeed helps clients learn how to manage their health conditions and improve their job skills, empowering families with the skills they need to not only survive in life, but thrive, which is a win/win solution for Wyoming.  Families achieve improved quality of life through self-sufficiency, and the State benefits from reduced expenditures and better trained workers.  This combination fuels economic development.”

###

For more information, contact:
Heather Roe Day
Healthy Families Succeed
307-638-0015
hroeday@hcmsgroup.com

About Healthy Families Succeed

Healthy Families Succeed links personal and family health to job skills and employment and, in turn, to community economic development and individual self-responsibility. The HFS approach defines the path to self-sufficiency by focusing on the many factors that define well being, such as physical and mental health, attitude/motivation, skills, income and community supports.

www.healthyfamiliessucceed.com

About WHIN

WHIN is administered by the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), comprised of the Governor’s Office and Directors from the Wyoming Departments of Corrections, Family Services, Health, Workforce Services, and Employment.  The ELT receives database, analytic and evaluation support from HCMS Group LLC.

About HCMS Group

HCMS Group is the ONLY combined health IT and clinical services company that uses custom data analytics to help businesses reduce their health benefit costs, and also support those employees with the greatest health risks. HCMS helps companies control runaway health benefit costs that can threaten business survival. We identify ways that companies can “get the incentives right” between employers and workers. We help our clients improve business performance and create great places to work, where employees feel empowered, valued and rewarded.

www.hcmsgroup.com

About the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence and innovation in governance and public policy through research, education, and public discussion. Three major programs support our mission: the Program on Democratic Governance; the Innovations in Government Program; and the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia. For more information, visit www.ash.harvard.edu.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Gardner Appointed to Healthcare Subcommittee in Wyoming

Written on March 11, 2011 by in News

Harold Gardner, MD appointed to the Health Care Subcommittee of the Wyoming Workforce Development Council

CHEYENNE, Wyoming (December 20, 2010)  –  Harold Gardner, MD, Chairman, Health as Human Capital Foundation, Managing Partner and CEO of HCMS Group LLC, was appointed to the Health Care Subcommittee of the Wyoming Workforce Development Council by the governor of Wyoming, Governor Dave Freudenthal. This new
subcommittee will examine health care workforce issues in the state of Wyoming and recommend solutions to the challenges facing this vital industry. Another critical role of this subcommittee will be the oversight of the Wyoming Health Care Worker Project, an initiative being funded through a grant from the U.S. Health Resources and
Services Administration and implemented by the Workforce Development Council jointly with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12/20/10
For Further Information Contact:
Gail Young
Media Coordinator
HCMS Group
(307) 638-0015
Gail_Young@hcmsgroup.com
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

HCMS Group Announces Release of O|BI – Online Business Intelligence

Written on February 8, 2011 by in News, Promotion

HCMS Group Announces Release of O|BITM – Online Business Intelligence

CHEYENNE, Wyoming (February 1, 2011)  —  HCMS Group announced the release of O|BITM – Online Business Intelligence, a web-based SaaS (software as a service) offering that allows clients to access key data analytic applications from their HCMS data warehouse.  O|BI is currently in the process of being deployed for several large HCMS clients, including Cisco Systems, USAA and Walgreens.

Continue Reading »

0 Comments - Leave a comment!