N.J. Consortium Takes New Approach to Maternity Care
The Healthcare Transformation Consortium (HTC), a collaborative of independent health systems in New Jersey, is launching a statewide value-based maternity care initiative with the goal of transforming the delivery and financing of maternity care.
HTC is comprised of the following provider organizations: Atlantic Health System, CentraState Healthcare System, Holy Name Medical Center, Hunterdon Health, Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, Valley Health System and Virtua Health.
The new model is powered by the maternity bundle of Wildflower Health, a women’s health solutions company. Initially, the value-based model will be delivered via a phased rollout to team members and dependents within HTC member health systems. Ultimately, Wildflower and HTC see opportunities to expand this approach to include other payers and self-insured employers.
Wildflower’s solution includes a package of digital tools to help doctors, nurses and other caregivers assist patients with care needs ranging from prenatal to postnatal. They include a digital platform that helps them engage, support, and remotely monitor patients between visits while expanding access to existing resources and virtual services. This platform includes educational content and tools for patients, and critical data for providers that can be accessed at point of care. Additionally, clinicians will be able to leverage health advocates and Coaches from Wildflower to extend the impact of their internal teams. These advocates and coaches will serve as eyes and ears for practices, helping connect patients to available resources while also escalating care for at-risk women who need additional clinical support.
As part of this initiative, Wildflower and HTC will also be working closely with OB-GYN practices across the state, including practices affiliated with Unified Women’s Healthcare and Axia Women’s Health. These organizations are two of the largest OB-GYN networks nationally and have a significant presence in New Jersey.
“Our member hospitals and health systems have always been committed to delivering the highest quality care possible to all women. This new partnership will allow the HTC to bring all stakeholders together to work for the benefit of expectant mothers, new moms and their babies,” said Kevin Lenahan, executive vice president, chief business & strategy officer for Atlantic Health System, in a statement. “Additionally, our physicians, nurses and team members are the most important asset to any healthcare system. Working with Wildflower allows us the opportunity to improve both member and physician experience, while helping reduce the cost of care and improve the quality of care for our employee health plan.”
This collaboration is one of the first regional networks of OB-GYN practices and hospitals aligning to transform care and transition toward value-based maternity care. Along with improving clinical outcomes, this partnership will leverage care transformation capabilities from Wildflower that operationalize value-based care. The company says that with this bundle, providers can evaluate and design value-based models alongside payers; install both digital health and point-of-care decision support tools; adapt current workflows to value-based requirements and continuously process data, both for leveraging key clinical metrics in real-time, as well as managing financial payments, reconciliations and outcomes measurement.
“As the demands on OB-GYNs continue to mount, it’s critical that we work together to find innovative ways to offer more support,” said Gaurov Dayal, M.D., CEO at Axia Women’s Health, in a statement. “The model being introduced in New Jersey fully equips clinicians to work more efficiently while providing personalized support for every patient, even between office visits. It makes it possible for providers to do their best work and be rewarded for high-quality outcomes.”
The Wildflower and HTC partnership officially launched Jan. 1, 2023, with the value-based model being rolled out in phases within HTC member health systems.
