VHAN’s RN Care Navigators are trained to help patients find their way through a complex health care system. But beyond untangling health care’s confusing details, these professionals also exhibit compassion for every patient they encounter, listening and showing genuine concern that’s as powerful as any prescription. In the case of one patient, the care management team’s ability to listen closely had potentially life-saving results.

In May 2022, VHAN established a new acute care outreach team for Connected Care of Middle Tennessee Medicare ACO patients.

This year VHAN will distribute $17.7 million in shared savings and performance bonuses from Health Plans, Aetna, Aetna MA, United Healthcare and Humana contracts, thanks to our members’ outstanding performance in 2021.

Patients in need of care often face social and emotional barriers to health improvement. And sometimes these barriers don’t come up during doctor visits.

VHAN’s Pamela Bruce, Director, Quality and Clinical Transformation, has joined the NAACOS Quality Committee. This committee evaluates quality initiatives and requirements related to ACOs, while focusing on the role of quality performance in population-based payment models. The NAACOS Quality Committee also works to develop and guide the NAACOS quality strategy as it relates to Medicare ACO models including the Shared Savings Programs and other payers with ACO contracts. Congratulations, Pam!

VHAN’s behavioral health team took on the challenge of managing pediatric depression by making it the subject of the network’s first Project ECHO program. Project ECHO seeks to address health care disparities with low-cost, high-impact interventions. 

To manage the dual challenges of prescribing antibiotics appropriately and preventing unnecessary usage, VHAN launched a new Antibiotic Stewardship Program.

The American Migraine Foundation found that fewer than 5% of patients who suffer from migraines have been seen by a health care provider, received an accurate diagnosis and obtained appropriate care.

According to a 2017 study in Annals of Internal Medicine, 20-30% of medication prescriptions are never filled, and about 50% of medications for chronic disease are not taken as prescribed.