Purchaser Collaborations
Collaboration with Health Care Purchasers to Support Pain Management Practice and Policy Change
AACIPM is working in partnership with employer coalitions to support purchasers of healthcare who are seeking information and resources to promote evidence-based, whole-person health and well-being when addressing pain management.
AACIPM Aids in Development of Washington Health Alliance’s Tool for Low Back Pain
To support the work of the Washington Health Alliance, AACIPM arranged and facilitated a group call with patient leaders to bring in the perspective of people with pain as WHA developed their Acute Low Back Pain Care Pathway tool. This constructive call included representatives from seven patient organizations and ultimately resulted in a number of edits to the tool, including the removal and/or amendment of stigmatizing language. We appreciated the opportunity to collaborate and the feedback from WHA was just as positive, as they stated, “We learned an important lesson during this process which is to include AACIPM and other patient focused organizations in our initiatives from the start!”
Focus Group Held on March 4, 2020
The Alliance to Advance Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management (AACIPM) and the Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) convened its first Health Care Purchasers Focus Group on March 4, 2020, in Chicago, Illinois. The event brought together employers, employer coalitions and policy and clinical subject matter experts to discuss comprehensive integrative pain management (CIPM). From prevention to chronic care, the program made space for interactive discussion about the role of a comprehensive, value-based approach to treating pain, such as the VA Whole Health Initiative. Participants discussed the role that purchasers can play to eventually modify benefit design and internal policies to achieve lower costs, higher productivity, and more consistent healthcare outcomes.
Pictured (left to right): David Elton, United Health Ventures; Alyssa Wostrel, AACIPM; Leah Hole Marshall, Washington Health Benefit Exchange; Amy Goldstein, AACIPM; Daniel Blaney-Koen, American Medical Association; Christine Goertz, Duke University; Lance Luria, Mercy Care Management; Kavitha Reddy, Veterans Health Administration
Partnership Education
AACIPM is partnering with the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance) and several regional coalitions, including Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH) and Kentuckiana Health Collaborative. We have joined forces to help employers ensure safe, high-quality and affordable treatment options for pain management for their employees and family members. Some exciting examples of ways we are collaborating include the upcoming symposium on Behavioral Health Approaches in Pain Management and the Benefit Design Workgroup.
Benefit Design
This time-limited working group is a follow on to AACIPM’s focus group in March 2020. The goal is to develop a benefit design template(s) and make progress in coalescence around the policy priorities for inclusion. This deliverable is to be used as a resource for providers, purchasers, brokers, consultants, and others interested in understanding how to modify health plan coverage to improve access to comprehensive integrative pain management. The intentional makeup of this initial group includes experts representing different stakeholder views that bring practical, real-world experience to this process.
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