Healthcare Technology Featured Article

May 15, 2012

Arizona's Banner Health Network Joins Aetna to Provide 'Whole Health' to State's Residents


Last year 32 healthcare organizations from across the country were chosen to participate in a new program, called the Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) initiative, birthed by the Affordable Care Act, according to an Aetna press release.

The Pioneer ACO initiative was set up to encourage primary care doctors, specialists, hospitals and other caregivers to provide better, more coordinated care for people with Medicare and, it is hoped, could save up to $1.1 billion over five years.

Arizona’s Banner Health Network was one organization that was chosen and now it is working with Aetna to supply the health system with health information exchange technology from Medicity, Active CareTeam clinical decision support tools, and smartphone-enabled appointment setting and pre-registration activities from iTriage.

The deal gives 200,000 patients, including 50,000 Medicare fee-for-service patients covered under the Pioneer ACO shared saving program, technology support.

ACOs, similar to HMOs, were created to provide integrated networks of physicians and hospitals, sharing responsibility for taking care of a population of patients, while coordinating care through shared access to electronic medical records (EMRs), improving quality and reducing costs.

Banner Health Network facilities use EMR technology, to which patients also have access, and 17 network organizations have achieved the final stage in the adoption of these electronic records, making them eligible for federal incentives, according to the network.

The network, a partnership between Arizona Integrated Physicians, the Banner Medical Group, the Banner Physician Hospital Organization and Banner Health, includes more than 2,600 affiliated physicians in the Phoenix area, according to the press release.

Aetna and Banner have been working together since November on their ACO collaboration, called Aetna Whole Health, which is an ACO-based, commercial health care product for small and middle market employers that Aetna describes as “quality care at a lower price.”

Members of that plan will receive similar health IT-supported services as those covered under the deal announced today, including the iTriage appointment and pre-registration service.

Last December Aetna announced that it had acquired iTriage (then named Healthagen) for an undisclosed sum. Healthagen, developer of Triage offers a symptom navigator, healthcare facility locator, and appointment booking service.

“iTriage is our patient engagement side of this [ACO offering],” Dr. Charles Saunders, head of strategic diversification at Aetna, said in the press release. Saunders went on to say that patients need to be engaged in their care for healthy outcomes, and a healthy nation.

Patient engagement” is a new concept that is vital to the optimal functioning of ACOs. HIMSS defines it as “the patient’s willingness to be fully engaged in his own healthcare experience,” interacting with doctors and educating himself on health issues to create a healthier lifestyle.




Edited by Stefanie Mosca
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