Fort Myers, FL, March 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In June 2016, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) was selected to participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM), a national innovative payment program designed to challenge medical oncologists to provide higher-quality, lower-cost cancer care by using an episode-based measurement system that improves the coordination and access to cancer care for patients receiving chemotherapy. Based on data compiled by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), FCS was able to successfully achieve savings in this program while continuing to deliver high-quality services to over 16,000 participating patients. This achievement allows FCS to continue to participate in the OCM program to ensure the enhanced services this model permits can continue, including care management and integrated clinical care that provides dedicated nurse navigators, virtual nutritionists, and social workers.
FCS CEO Brad Prechtl, MBA, said, “Several key factors contributed to our success, including the dedicated focus of our Care Management team on reducing inpatient hospital admissions and assisting patients between office visits to avoid unnecessary emergency room visits. The report indicates that our hospital admissions rates were 8.5% less than our peers and our emergency department visits were 30% less than those same peers. This is a remarkable achievement for our practice.”
Sarah Cevallos, FCS Chief Revenue Cycle Officer, added, “We have made substantial strides in our strategic focus on value-based programs such as the OCM over the past several years. The success of this model allows us to reinvest in our patients, payer partners, and practice to continue to enhance the care we can provide each day.”
FCS President & Managing Physician Dr. Lucio Gordan pointed out that FCS patient approval scores were also outstanding for this reporting period. “At FCS, our guiding principle is to put the patient first in everything we do; so it’s extremely gratifying to learn that our overall patient rating from the OCM report was 9.02 (out of 10) and our aggregate quality score was 84%.”
One of the leading factors in achieving the high-performance level cited in the report was a dramatic reduction in the number of FCS patients who had to be admitted to the hospital. According to FCS Chief Operating Officer Todd Schonherz, “All of our OCM patients are assigned a dedicated Care Manager and receive a personalized care plan. The Care Managers are an extension of the exceptional team within the clinics to ensure continuous high-quality care for our patients in between their office visits.”
####
About Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, LLC: (FLCancer.com)
Recognized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) with a national Clinical Trials Participation Award, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) offers patients access to more clinical trials than any private oncology practice in Florida. In the past 4 years, the majority of new cancer drugs approved for use in the U.S. were studied in clinical trials with Florida Cancer Specialists participation.* Trained in such prestigious medical schools and research institutes as Duke, Stanford, Harvard, Emory, M.D. Anderson, and Memorial Sloan Kettering, our physicians are consistently ranked nationally as Top Doctors by U.S. News & World Report.
Founded in 1984, FCS is one of the largest medical oncology/hematology practices in the United States. With more than 230 physicians, 220 advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) and physician assistants (PA) and nearly 100 locations in our network, we are committed to providing world-class cancer care in community-based settings, close to home.
Florida Cancer Specialists has built a national reputation for excellence that is reflected in exceptional and compassionate patient care, driven by innovative clinical research, cutting-edge technologies and advanced treatments, including targeted therapies, genomic-based treatment and immunotherapy. Our highest values are embodied by our outstanding team of highly-trained and dedicated physicians, clinicians and staff.
Attachment