Premier Creates Contigo Health to Coordinate Efforts Between Health Systems, Employers
Premier Inc. has formed a new company it says is focused on optimizing care through clinically led partnerships with large, national employers and their health plans.
The company, Contingo Health, is designed to be a clinically driven network of health systems collaborating with employers and their health plans to deliver the best care possible for their employees. Contigo Health plans to launch pilot programs with employers by partnering with health systems in select markets to eliminate unwarranted variation in care delivery. The goal is to avoid unnecessary invasive treatments and focus on delivering the most appropriate care to improve quality and reduce costs.
A group of 35 health systems, representing more than 440 hospitals, have signed letters of intent to participate in Contigo Health’s network of providers. Contigo Health is also working with several large national employer partners, which it expects to announce in the coming months.
Contigo Health is focused on increasing engagement with employer health and wellness programs in the clinical setting. This includes empowering clinicians with information on employers’ existing ancillary benefits during the patient encounter, ensuring patients are aware of the resources available to better manage their health.
Charlotte-based Premier said Contigo Health is designed to deliver insights to clinicians through a user-friendly, EMR-integrated, proprietary clinical decision support interface to guide informed care choices with the latest evidence-based practices.
“Premiums are rising 6 percent each year and employers are increasingly bearing a larger share of overall healthcare costs,” said Michael J. Alkire, president of Premier, in a statement. “It’s imperative that healthcare providers lead the care decision-making process, and therefore they need closer relationships with the employers funding care. We designed Contigo Health to foster trusted relationships between clinicians, health systems and employers that are focused on achieving these common goals—while working within their existing benefit structure and health plans.”
Jonathan R. Slotkin, M.D., will serve as Contigo Health’s chief medical officer to lead its clinical innovation, strategy and operations, while continuing to care for patients as a neurosurgeon at Geisinger. Steven Nelson will serve as president of Contigo Health. He joined Premier in October 2018 as a vice president, directly responsible for growth and innovation for the Performance Services business unit. Prior to Premier, he was the chief operating officer for the diversification arm of Anthem Inc.
