The CMS Innovation Center announced on Thursday two new care delivery models intended to improve patient engagement and decision-making.
The models will encourage Medicare beneficiaries to be more engaged in their care decisions by having more access to their health information, wrote Dr. Patrick Conway, CMS' chief medical officer, and Dr. Andy Bindman, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in a blog post announcing the models.
The two models are called the Shared Decision Making Model and the Direct Decision Support Model.
The Shared Decision Making Model allows Medicare beneficiaries to work with their clinicians to choose their best treatment plans, including surgery.
Clinicians can participate in the model if they are currently part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program or a Next Generation Accountable-Care Organization.
The CMS expects more than 150,000 Medicare beneficiaries will be eligible for the model every year.
The Direct Decision Support Model will rely on engaging beneficiaries about their health outside of the clinical setting. The CMS will partner with up to seven commercial firms that provide health information to the public but are not providers.
The model will encourage the use of decision aids such as pamphlets or brochures that offer treatment options for particular conditions.
Each commercial firm selected by the CMS will be assigned a geographic area that includes about 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries. About 700,000 beneficiaries can be eligible for the model.
Both models can be used by Medicare patients with six conditions: stable ischemic heart disease; hip or knee osteoarthritis; herniated disk or spinal stenosis; clinically localized prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia.
The conditions were chosen because they don't have one appropriate treatment option and the course of treatment can vary by the personal preference of the patient.
Organizations and providers interested in both models can apply until March 5, 2017.
