News

CONTACT:

Danielle Flowers, MBA
(703) 838-0033 ext. 347
dflowers@amga.org

1 July 2010

AMGA Announces Grants for Best Practices in Managing Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions

ALEXANDRIA, VA - The American Medical group Association (AMGA) is pleased to announce an American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) research project that will develop insights and resources to help healthcare providers improve care for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Organizations that are selected to participate in the advisory group for a learning collaborative dedicated to managing these patients may receive reimbursement of up to $10,000. AMGF is conducting this research project in collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.

As part of this project, AMGF is seeking case studies from medical groups in which chronic care management programs have led to improvement in patients with complex chronic conditions including:

Early identification of patients at risk for chronic disease
Reduction in mortality and morbidity
Improved medication adherence and compliance
Improved continuity of care across care transitions
Increased efficiency and reduction in unnecessary or wasteful service and resources
Improved patient activation and self-management

Medical groups, academic practices, integrated delivery systems, and other organized systems of care that have incorporated chronic care programs into their practices are encouraged to submit a case study. AMGF is most interested in programs that hold the promise of impacting large populations of patients who have more than one chronic disease.

Those organiza¬tions selected for the compendium will be invited to participate in a year-long learning collaborative during which a “Best Practices” framework for managing patients with multiple chronic conditions will be developed and tested. Organizations selected to participate in the compendium and learning collabora¬tive will be invited to appoint one or more subject matter consultants to participate in the Advisory Group that will guide the activities of the collaborative, serve as faculty for the collaborative's educational sessions, and help develop the optimal chronic care framework. The optimal chronic care framework will assist organizations in building the care coordination functions that are central to provider entities that will be held accountable for comprehensive healthcare services under the new health care reform legislation. Organizations that are selected to participate in the Advisory Group may receive reimbursement of up to $10,000.

Applications are due August 13, 2010. To download guidelines, click here. For additional information, contact Danielle Flowers at dflowers@amga.org or (703) 838-0033, ext. 347 or visit www.amga.org.

Background
Chronic diseases affect more than half of our patients, many with two or more chronic illnesses. In 2000, an estimated 125 million people had chronic condi¬tions, with 48% having more than one condition. By 2020, those numbers are expected to grow to 157 million, with 81 million having more than one condi¬tion. Research has shown that a vast majority of these patients are not receiving the care they need. Awareness of the growing prevalence of people with chronic conditions is not enough. AMGF believes we need to change the way health care is delivered to meet the common problems these patients face as they seek care to maintain their health and quality of life.

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents medical groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the multispecialty medical group model of healthcare delivery and for the patients served by medical groups through innovation and information sharing, benchmarking, leadership development, and continuous striving to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver health care to more than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 million capitated lives. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. The American Medical Group Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the AMGA. As a nonprofit 501(C)3 organization, its mission is to foster quality improvement in group practice through education and research programs in clinical quality, patient safety, service, operational efficiency and innovation. For more information, visit www.amga.org.

Website Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy