December 9

Announcements

DMAA members enjoy discounts on exhibit space and preference in sponsorships for the 2009 Integrated Care Summit, March 29 to 31, in Austin, Texas. Download a sponsorship prospectus at IntegratedCareSummit.org.
Now available: Volume 3 of the DMAA Outcomes Guidelines Report. DMAA members receive 33 percent discount on purchase price. Go to order page...

Top Stories

Breaux-Wilensky Keynote from Forum 08 Available on DMAA Site

DMAA has added to its post-conference Web site for The Forum 08 a podcast of the Nov. 24 keynote presentation by former U.S. Senator John Breaux and health policy expert Gail Wilensky, PhD, on the outlook for health care reform and population health improvement under a new Congress and administration.

Also available on the site are downloadable, PDF copies of all concurrent session presentation slides and slides from the pre-conference Outcomes Symposium; PDF copies of the conference daily newspaper, The Continuum,; the final show program; and a link for requesting e-mail continuing education credit certificates for Forum sessions.

Breaux and Wilensky each predicted significant movement toward health care reform legislation and an emphasis on prevention and wellness. But they also said major initiatives won't come quickly - perhaps not until President-Elect Barack Obama's third year in office - given the more immediate need to ease the nation's economic difficulties.

DMAA last week posted a podcast of a Nov. 25 keynote panel discussion at the Forum on population health improvement in the patient-centered medical home. Visit TheForum08.org to access this and other resources from DMAA's 10th annual meeting.

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STOP Obesity Alliance Announces 'GPS' for Decisionmakers

The Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance, of which DMAA is a member, today released the Obesity GPS - Guide for Policy and Program Solutions, the first navigation tool developed to guide public and private decisionmakers as they determine the most successful strategies to combat overweight and obesity.

"Policies and programs designed to take on the obesity epidemic are well-intentioned, but not always effective," said Christine Ferguson, director of the STOP Obesity Alliance. "The Obesity GPS provides direction on the primary issues that must guide any and all efforts to realistically and effectively reduce our national obesity epidemic."

The Obesity GPS is a set of multi-layered questions that decisionmakers can apply in the development or evaluation of the most common types of proposals: specific health interventions, policies aimed at health care professionals or research initiatives. The Obesity GPS is divided into four main sections that highlight the important questions decisionmakers should consider related to overweight and obesity.

Since its inception in May 2007, the STOP Obesity Alliance has grounded its work to help reverse America's obesity epidemic in two major areas: leveraging evidence-based research to reveal societal and economic obstacles to addressing overweight and obesity, and developing policy recommendations to overcome the current barriers. Read more...

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DMAA Promotes Online Member Access to Bimonthly Journal

As a valuable benefit to its members, DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance provides all organizations and individuals print and unlimited online access to its official peer-reviewed journal, Population Health Management.

Online access to the journal, an international, bimonthly publication on the clinical and business aspects of population health improvement, includes a searchable database of archived copies dating to 2000. Copies of all articles may be downloaded in PDF format. Beginning Jan. 1, DMAA will provide a single print subscription for each member organization and individual, while offering unlimited online access to all individuals within member organizations and to all individual members.

In spring 2002, DMAA and publisher Mary Ann Liebert Inc. agreed to designate the publication, then called Disease Management, as the association's official journal. The journal was renamed Population Health Management this year to reflect the movement of DMAA and the industry toward the breadth of services across the continuum of care for chronic disease.

Access to Population Health Management online is available through the main DMAA Web site, from a secure page that requires a username and password. To retrieve log-in information, please forward a request by e-mail to T.M. Parker, Member Services Director, at tparker@dmaa.org.

Trends & Reports

Report: Only 4 Cents of Premium Dollar Dedicated to Consumer Services

A new report has found that 87 cents out of every health insurance premium dollar go directly toward medical services, while only 4 cents go toward paying for consumer services such as prevention, disease management, care coordination, investments in health information technologies and health support.

The report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of America's Health Insurance Plans, "The Factors Fueling Rising Healthcare Costs 2008," examines the causes of rising health care costs and analyzes how health insurance premium dollars are being spent. Overall, the report found that premiums have slowed to less than half the growth rate from five years ago, yet higher costs, increased utilization and waste in the health care system continue to fuel underlying health cost increases.

The report raises an alarm about wasteful health care spending that adds no value or quality to patient care. It also highlights programs, such as care coordination, chronic disease management and prevention, used to combat waste. Read more...

U.S. Health Stagnates for Fourth Year in a Row, Annual Ranking Reveals

In a disturbing development, the "2008 America's Health Rankings: A Call to Action for Individuals & Their Communities" revealed that the health of Americans has failed to improve for the fourth consecutive year. Key factors contributing to these results included unprecedented levels of obesity, an increasing number of uninsured people, and the persistence of risky health behaviors, particularly tobacco use. Read more...

Company News

Note: DMAA corporate members linked

Study Shows Successful Physician Engagement in LifeMasters Programs

IRVINE, Calif. - New research from LifeMasters Supported SelfCare Inc. shows that physicians who receive the company's Health Alerts, which provide real-time information on changes in the clinical status of their patients, responded quickly to the results with treatment plan course corrections more than 85 percent of the time. Read more...

Curves International, Healthways SilverSneakers Announce Partnership

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Healthways Inc. and Curves International Inc., the world's largest fitness club franchisor, announced a strategic partnership Dec. 9 that will bring the award-winning Healthways SilverSneakers Fitness Program to 6,500 Curves locations in 50 states beginning Jan. 1, 2009. Read more...

Noted State Government Medical Director Joins APS Healthcare

APS Healthcare Inc., one of the country's leading specialty health care companies, has announced that Stephen E. Saunders, MD, MPH, has joined as its chief medical officer. Read more...

ActiveHealth Management to Communicate Targeted FDA Safety Alerts

NEW YORK - ActiveHealth Management announced Dec. 8 that it will be expanding its clinical alert offerings to include patient safety alerts based on FDA safety alerts. Read more...

Inter Valley Health Plan Selects Silver&Fit Senior Fitness Program

SAN DIEGO - American Specialty Health, a leading national health improvement organization, announced that Inter Valley Health Plan, a non-profit, federally qualified Medicare Advantage program, has selected its Silver&Fit senior fitness program for its 14,600 eligible members in California. Read more...

OptumHealth Awarded Empire Plan Mental Health, Substance Abuse Program

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York announced Dec. 2 that the New York Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) has approved a single source contract to administer the Empire Plan Mental Health and Substance Abuse Program awarded by the Department of Civil Service (DCS). Read more...

DMAA eNews is a weekly member benefit. Comments, suggestions and content contributions may be submitted to the editor, Carl Graziano, at cgraziano@dmaa.org or (202) 478-5113 (fax). This publication is distributed in both HTML and plain text formats for those members who have browsers or firewalls that will not accommodate graphics. Note that some links might not work beyond the publication date due to changes at the source.

DMAA Staff Listing | DMAA Member Roster

DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance convenes all stakeholders providing services along the care continuum toward the goal of population health improvement. These care continuum services include strategies such as health and wellness promotion, disease management and care coordination. DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance promotes the role of population health improvement in raising the quality of care, improving health outcomes and reducing preventable health care costs for people with chronic conditions and those at risk for developing chronic conditions. DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance represents more than 200 corporate and individual stakeholders, including health plans, disease management organizations, health information technology innovators, employers, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals and researchers and academicians. Learn more by visiting DMAA online at www.dmaa.org.