Eight Practices Sign up for Humana’s TJR Model

Eight orthopedic specialty groups in Indiana and Kentucky have agreed to sign up for Humana, Inc.’s value-based care model for total hip or knee joint replacement (TJR) surgery Medicare Advantage members.

The eight specialty groups are: Fort Wayne Orthopedics, Ortho NorthEast, Orthopaedic Associates Inc., Tri-State Orthopaedics and Unity Healthcare LLC in Indiana and Commonwealth Orthopaedic Centers, Kentucky Bone and Joint Surgeons and Norton Orthopedic Specialists in Kentucky.

The Humana program provides analytic services to help these practices manage large joint patient care from diagnosis to recovery. Its goal is to improve service coordination and thereby cut complication rates and the often resulting post-surgery readmissions.

Humana has long offered analytical and data services to orthopedic practices. Some of these include assessing population health capabilities, helping with chronic disease management and supporting wellness programs—all of which can enhance orthopedic integrated care approaches.

Chip Howard, Humana’s vice president of payment innovation, told Healthcare Finance in a recent article; “Through our total joint replacement model, Humana is taking value-based care to the next level—from primary care to a more involved medical procedure. Humana’s approach is to provide orthopedic surgeons the tools they need to coordinate all aspects of their patients’ diagnosis, treatment, recovery and rehabilitation to in turn improve quality, lower cost and create a better experience for our members.”

According to Humana, its programs with primary care physicians have managed to lower costs by 20%.