Medecision Delivers Care Management Platform in One of the Largest U.S. Healthcare Information Technology Implementations

WAYNE, PA--(Marketwire - Sep 6, 2012) - Medecision, Inc., the leading provider of health management solutions, today announced that Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the operator of Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, has successfully implemented Aerial™, Medecision's suite of care management solutions and services for its 13+ million members. 

Aerial™ is a state-of-the-art, open, scalable care management solution that has been successfully deployed to health plans, healthcare delivery systems, and physician group practices. Care management applications include care and case management, disease management, utilization management, provider and consumer (member) connectivity and engagement, population management, and wellness.

"It's been an amazing year for Medecision, and HCSC's successful deployment of Aerial is truly one of the crowning achievements in the company's 24 year history. As with all complex implementations of this type, Medecision partnered closely with HCSC to deliver; what I'm most proud of is the fact our teams delivered on this implementation at a time of high growth for Medecision -- a time when the company had 7 implementations and upgrades going on simultaneously, representing 18 million members. Not only did we deliver on-time and on-budget for HCSC, we successfully deployed all the other projects as well, with an average project timeline of just 8 months each," said Deborah M. Gage, president and chief executive officer, Medecision. "And we're not resting on our laurels; even today we have another 6 clients (representing 5 million additional members) currently implementing Aerial."

Gage continued, "The exciting thing is the diversity of the organizations deploying the solution. In additional to our traditional health plan client base, we're implementing Aerial at various health delivery systems as well as accountable care organizations (ACOs). That certainly speaks to the changing environment we find ourselves in, but more importantly it speaks to the versatility, scalability, and the importance of a solution such as Aerial in our healthcare systems today." 

Supporting healthcare industry transformation
Care management platform adoption is at a new high, attributable to healthcare organizations' focus on meeting new healthcare reform regulations, increasing membership growth and profitability, providing cost control, and improving health outcomes. Health plans, risk-bearing organizations and shared-risk agencies are all now evaluating and choosing technology platforms that positively impact revenue, productivity and competitiveness, especially with a focus on care management. They seek proven care management partners like Medecision whose technology solutions enable innovative operational models, coupled with a proven ability to implement.

"Medecision has now created a center of excellence for care management implementations," Gage said. "Industry standard deployment time for these types of projects has typically run 12-18 months. Where many vendors have failed, Medecision is successfully delivering on each and every one, and averaging only 8 months from kickoff to production." 

In July, noted industry analyst firm IDC Health Insights named Medecision as a major player in their report, "IDC MarketScape: U.S. Care Management Solutions for Healthcare Payers 2012 Vendor Assessment." The report highlights Medecision's industry and solution depth and experience, as well as its long-term market presence, and proven core technology and solution platform.ⁱ 

Janice W. Young, research director, IDC Health Insights, said, "These next generation platforms allow plans, delivery organizations and independent physicians to share a single view of individual patients and patient populations at risk, enabling improved cost and health outcomes. Payer and provider organizations are investing in new solutions to create partnerships between those at risk for the costs of care, consumers and the delivery system, enabling the transformation from fee-for-service to pay for performance, powering systems that engage consumers, and enabling new accountable care organizations to confidently take on new risk, new populations and new business."

Laying the groundwork for future interoperability and expansion
The Aerial platform now powers seamless care coordination and access to patient information needed to support HCSC's business transformation. Medecision has extended its care management platform to support this shift -- adding flexibility, analytics, data integration, and NCQA certified and URAC accredited clinical programs. 

Carolyn Dawson, senior vice president, Enterprise Health Care Management for HCSC, said, "The new Aerial platform enables the transformation of care management in our plans. The dramatic new capabilities of Aerial support our need for greater consumer engagement in health management, improved care coordination and population management. Aerial is helping us optimize the effectiveness of more than 1,200 nurses and care managers who are dedicated to the health and outcomes of more than 13 million members. Aerial will allow us to bring greater focus and attention to those with chronic and complex conditions across the care continuum, including managing medical, surgical and pharmaceutical in all settings with evidence-based medical protocols and powerful new consumer information."

The largest and most complex care management implementation
The scope of this Aerial roll-out is one of the largest and most complex healthcare technology implementations for care management in the industry. HCSC implemented the Aerial Behavioral Health solution in 2011 and has now expanded the reach of the Aerial platform to include the full suite of Aerial solutions for utilization management, case management and disease management. The goal is to further facilitate member identification, assessment and engagement; care planning built on evidence-based medical guidelines and best practices; automated provider communications; integrated member engagement; and reporting compliance.

Dawson continued, "We are excited about the Aerial 2013 roadmap that includes enhancements for greater consumer engagement, new integrated medical, surgical and pharmaceutical management solutions that allow Aerial to become the patient-centered platform from which our care management initiatives will extend to facilitate essential care coordination between members and physicians, ultimately improving health outcomes and lowering costs."

Terri Kline, senior vice president and chief healthcare management officer, HCSC, said, "Due to the amazing partnership of hundreds of employees at both companies, the coordination, planning, and execution across the two organizations was completed on time and on budget with virtually flawless execution across the technology, medical, project management, and business leadership teams. The partnership approach taken by Medecision and HCSC leadership set the tone for the success of this project and allowed everyone involved in the project to remain laser focused on our core purpose -- 'to stand with members in sickness and in health.'"

About Medecision

Medecision is the leading provider of healthcare management solutions serving national, regional and local health plans, insurers and care delivery organizations, more than 74,000 physicians and 44 million consumers. Working within the framework that patients, care providers and health plans are all driving towards better health outcomes, Medecision and its Aerial™ solutions help connect all stakeholders to liberate the highest quality and most cost-efficient care.

As more organizations transition to value-based care, Medecision continually applies its 24 years of experience, its comprehensive technology platforms, significant investments in research and development, and the broadest implementation and clinical expertise to ensure consumers receive the best possible care. With Medecision as a business partner, health plans and care providers confidently manage through market changes, regulatory updates and new populations, while improving quality and reducing costs.

Medecision is a trademark of Medecision, Inc. The Medecision logo and product names are also trademarks or registered trademarks of Medecision, Inc. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.

ⁱ FOOTNOTE: Access to the report (IDC Health Insights Document # H1235803, July 2012) is available by subscription from IDC Health Insights.