CCNC, N.C. State Partner to Control Medicaid Costs
RALEIGH, N.C. -- January 13, 2015 -- Two leading North Carolina institutions are partnering to improve the efficiency of care delivered to Medicaid beneficiaries across the state. Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), the nonprofit organization that manages care for much of the state’s Medicaid program, and NC State’s Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) will work together to streamline care processes in order to restrain Medicaid costs while simultaneously raising the quality of care delivered. Advanced analytics and modeling will be utilized to improve processes and efficiencies, lower operating costs and improve health outcomes.
Industrial and systems engineers are becoming integral partners with the healthcare community in efforts to improve the organization, delivery and cost effectiveness of healthcare. Within ISE, Health Systems Engineering (HSE) develops innovative tools for clinical operations and supports safe, high-quality and accessible healthcare.
“HSE brings invaluable expertise in healthcare delivery over the entire patient care cycle,” said L. Allen Dobson, Jr., MD, CEO of CCNC. “We already work with them in bringing LEAN principles to our clinical operations. CCNC has been successful in reducing hospital admission rates, unnecessary emergency room visits and other sources of waste and duplication. With ISE, we will explore additional opportunities to reduce costs and get more value for the state’s Medicaid dollar.”
CCNC’s ongoing effort to restrain North Carolina’s Medicaid costs has been extremely successful. An independent actuarial study estimated that CCNC’s unique medical home model helped North Carolina avoid nearly $1 billion in costs over a four-year period. The scale of CCNC’s success has captured the attention of health care policymakers nationally and the program has been hailed as a model in other states
“As part of NC State ISE curriculum, our students and faculty partner with a variety of organizations to solve real-world problems,” said Paul H. Cohen, Edgar S. Woolard Distinguished Professor and Head of NC State ISE. “Our health systems engineers optimize decision making with state-of-the-art modeling, resulting in measurable improvements to service and value.”
Through a statewide network of patient-centered “medical homes,” CCNC touches nearly 80 percent of the state’s 1.6 million Medicaid recipients. Together, CCNC and ISE will research and develop best practices for controlling costs while raising the quality of patient care statewide.
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The clip from UNC-TV's NC NOW public affairs program features and interview with CCNC's Dr. Annette DuBard and Dr. Paul Cohen of the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at N.C. State.