AJMC® in the Press, July 28, 2017

Healthcare organizations have been slow offer greater price transparency to patients, according to a recent article on PatientEngagementHIT.com. It also noted that “price transparency is not common and not all patients want or need it to be,” citing the findings from a study featured in the June 2017 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®). The interviews described in the study, “Patients’ Views on Price Shopping and Price Transparency,” revealed that patients rarely used a price transparency tool offered by their employer to shop around for care.

A news release from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced the results of a health app that encourages adherence in patients with diabetes, and referenced an AJMC^® study to demonstrate how improving adherence can have major financial implications. “Association Among Change in Medical Costs, Level of Comorbidity, and Change in Adherence Behavior,” which was published in the August 2016 issue of AJMC^®, found that patients with diabetes saved $5341 annually after becoming adherent.

A HealthPayerIntelligence.com article discussed how payers can support accountable care organizations (ACOs) in taking on 2-sided risk. It quoted a letter to the editor in the December 2016 issue of AJMC^® to support its argument that insurers can “nudge ACOs along” by providing resources while not imposing burdens in the form of reporting requirements. In the letter, “Patient-Centered Care: Turning the Rhetoric Into Reality,” the authors wrote, “The first step is for government and private payers to stop constantly piling new requirements upon the old.”