DALLAS, May 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACAP Health Consulting and New Hampshire-based Open Health Market (OHM) announce the posting of the first online Quality Request for information from self-insured employers seeking to connect directly with medical providers. The unique Quality Request template collects vital quality data the employers may use to evaluate and compare medical providers vying to serve their employees and their families.
The first web-based Quality Request, published this week on www.openhealthmarket.net, is targeted to primary care physicians for the delivery of population health management services. The Quality Request was published by ACAP Health on behalf of over 20 progressive employers in North Texas, including 7-Eleven, Sabre Holdings, The Neiman Marcus Group, Southern Methodist University, Energy Future Holdings, and Commercial Metals Corporation. The collective group of employers spent more than $1 billion for healthcare services last year and is looking to manage this cost by connecting directly with innovative, high-quality physicians and hospitals willing to work with them to provide better care at a lower cost.
To date, more than 20 North Texas provider groups have already signed on to the Open Health Market site to respond to employer requests for quality information, including one large hospital system.
OHM and ACAP Health joined forces in late 2011 with the mutual goal of empowering self-insured employers and individuals in a competitive healthcare marketplace.
As a company that helps employers develop strategies to improve their employees' health while lowering costs, ACAP Health is excited to work with OHM. "We help our employer clients establish value-based relationships directly with providers, as opposed to the broad networks under a traditional fee-for-service approach," says Dr. Scott Conard, chief medical officer for ACAP Health. "To enable our services, we needed a web-based mechanism to attract and to assess a provider's care processes and clinical outcomes. OHM's capabilities serve that purpose to a tee."
OHM founder Donald Crandlemire, who is also an attorney with the New Hampshire-based Shaheen & Gordon law firm, sees OHM as a tool to drive healthcare reform based on market forces, as opposed to government mandate. "OHM offers businesses a chance to change the manner in which they relate to medical providers and purchase health services", he says. "The strength of the marketplace has always been the most powerful driver of change to the benefit of consumers. OHM is the first site of its kind to tap into that power."
Healthcare providers are poised for action, having begun registering with OHM in order to respond to this enormous opportunity to expand their patient base. "As a primary care physician, getting involved with OHM carries many advantages," says Dr. Chris Crow of Village Health Partners. "It gives us a place to showcase our capabilities and an efficient way to connect with the actual purchasers of healthcare."
These first Quality Requests will be accepting provider responses through mid-May. When the request process ends, ACAP Health will assist employers with establishing agreements with chosen high-value providers.
About Open Health Market
Open Health Market is a health services transactional tool that directly connects purchasers of health care services to accredited medical providers. It was founded by a team of professionals with experience in healthcare, law, business and Web 2.0 development, including Donald Crandlemire, a shareholder for with the New Hampshire-based Shaheen & Gordon law firm; Dr. Leonard Fromer, Executive Medical Director of the Group Practice Forum; Peter Hayes, former Director of Health and Benefits for Hannaford Bros. Supermarkets; and web technology firm Cognisync, Inc. Open Health Market enables committed corporations and providers passionate about increasing the value of health care in America to achieve their goals.
About ACAP Health Consulting
ACAP Health Consulting is a Dallas-based healthcare consulting firm aligning major healthcare stakeholders including employers, insurers, medical providers, pharmaceutical companies and others with measurable solutions that raise the value and ultimately lower the cost of healthcare benefits. ACAP Health's ultimate goal is to transform health benefits to proactively connect patients with the medical providers and programs that give them the best chance of getting better—and to do so affordably.
This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com
http://www.cisionwire.com/the-integer-group/r/open-health-market--acap-health-consulting-post-first-online-request-for-quality-information--as-mar,c9254730