Ministry Health Care, the second-largest health system in Wisconsin, is joining Quality Health Solutions Inc. (QHS), a collaborative group of Wisconsin health care systems and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
QHS, which last week announced a major shared savings initiative with UnitedHealthcare, is expanding its accountable care network. The network is clinically integrated, allowing it to contract directly with health plans on behalf of its members for shared savings, pay-for-performance, and other innovative payment programs. The network expects to enter into risk arrangements on behalf of its members.
The addition of Ministry Health Care brings the network to 34 hospitals and more than 6,000 physicians spanning north, central and eastern Wisconsin. Annually, the members together have more than 166,000 inpatient admissions and over five million outpatient visits. Combined net revenue is nearly $7 billion.
“Ministry Health Care significantly increases our footprint and positions QHS to leverage size and scale to cost-effectively coordinate care for patients across a broad geographic area,” said Peter Pruessing, chief executive officer of Quality Health Solutions. “From the start, the goal of QHS has been to create value by linking multiple providers in a way that preserves choice for patients, assures high quality services and drives down costs.”
Ministry Health Care operates 15 hospitals with locations across north, central and eastern Wisconsin and has more than 650 clinicians providing services at 47 clinic sites. Ministry also has a longstanding partnering relationship with the Marshfield Clinic, along with clinical relationships with numerous independent groups.
“Quality Health Solutions’ innovative approach to accountable care will allow us to better serve employers and our patients and will bring Ministry increased commercial market share,” said Nick Desien, chief executive officer of Ministry Health Care. “We believe this collaboration is a significant step in the transformation of health care delivery.”
Founded in 2005 and based in Brookfield, Quality Health Solutions is a consortium of independent health systems, hospitals and physicians working together to improve the quality, efficiency and value of health care services in the markets served by its members. In addition to Ministry, QHS members in Wisconsin who are participating in the accountable care network strategy currently include Agnesian Healthcare, Columbia St. Mary’s, Froedtert Health, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
QHS provides a platform for sharing resources across multiple organizations and offers a variety of solutions that can be implemented at the local level, including e-ICU monitoring, telehealth services, data integration, care management and the clinically integrated accountable care network. The QHS vision is to redefine the delivery of health care through innovation and integration.
