Phoenix Children's Care Network and UnitedHealthcare Launch Initiative to Improve Quality and Keep People Healthy

PHOENIX, Dec. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Children's Care Network (PCCN) and UnitedHealthcare have launched an accountable care program that promotes a team approach to health care and improves quality, lowers costs and enhances the coordination of people's care.

This new accountable care relationship enables PCCN to treat patients using an innovative value-based model focused on keeping people healthy. UnitedHealthcare shares data with PCCN to inform doctors of patients' underlying medical conditions, past treatments, gaps in care, medications prescribed and future care needs. This takes the burden off the child's family from having to connect information from each of their doctor's visits themselves, and reduces duplicative tests and improves care coordination across specialties and care settings.

Through this initiative, PCCN and UnitedHealthcare are able to identify clear, actionable information specific to individual patients' health needs. This collaboration also improves the ability to identify patients at high risk, and help them reduce emergency room visits and readmissions to the hospital, manage their chronic health conditions and take their needed medications.

"Our physician-led clinically integrated network of over 100 physicians combined with robust population health analytics and our comprehensive care management program gives participating PCCN practices the ability to increase quality and efficiency while reducing redundancy and health care costs," said Casey Osborne, Vice President, PCCN. "We are enhancing care coordination across care settings, and our new accountable care relationship with UnitedHealthcare enables PCCN to provide improved care to more patients in our community."

Nearly 50,000 people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare's Medicaid health plans are eligible to benefit from this collaboration.

"UnitedHealthcare and PCCN are committed to ensuring children have access to the quality care they need and deserve," said Joseph Gaudio, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Arizona. "By collaborating with PCCN, we can create a more connected health care experience, help improve patient care and enhance people's ability to live healthier lives."

More than 15 million people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare plans across the country have access to accountable care programs, delivered in part through more than 800 accountable care arrangements nationwide as the organization engages in deeper, more collaborative relationships with physicians and hospitals.

Care providers nationwide are showing strong interest in a shift to value-based care. UnitedHealthcare's total payments to physicians and hospitals that are tied to value-based arrangements have tripled in the last three years to more than $54 billion. By the end of 2018, UnitedHealthcare expects that figure to reach $65 billion.

For more information about UnitedHealthcare's changing relationships with care providers and how value-based programs are helping to improve quality and people's health, visit www.UHC.com/valuebasedcare and download the Value-based Care Report.

About Phoenix Children's Care Network

Phoenix Children's Care Network is a physician-led, pediatric-focused, clinically integrated organization that represents a valuable alliance between and among community pediatricians and subspecialists, with the collective focus on improving quality of care while effectively managing associated costs. It was the first pediatric network in the U.S. to achieve Utilization Review Accreditation Committee (URAC) accreditation as a clinically-integrated network. With more than 1,000 providers, it is the largest pediatric clinically-integrated organization in Arizona. A total of 85 percent of specialists and 65 percent of primary care providers in the state participate in the care network. For access to the very best pediatric care, make sure PCCN physicians are in your health insurance network. For more information, visit www.pccn.org.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

SOURCE Phoenix Children's Care Network