Case Study Highlighting Passport’s Innovative Physician Quality-of-Care Recognition Program Echoes Event Theme of “Certain Actions for Uncertain Times”

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. & LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kentucky’s Passport Health Plan and ikaSystems, a premier provider of enterprise-level Web-based technologies for the payer market, garnered the Healthcare IT Innovation™ Award for “Best Case Study Presentation, Insurer” at this year’s Healthcare IT Summit, hosted by Everything Channel. Innovation Award winners are selected by conference attendees via a confidential ballot, making them a true symbol of peer recognition for successful achievement.

“We’re very pleased to be acknowledged by this group. Exploring the possibilities offered by the application of technology in healthcare is extremely important to us. By partnering with our providers on a program like this, we are able to ensure improved health outcomes for members as well as cost containment,” said Dr. Larry N. Cook, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of University Health Care, Inc., which does business as Passport Health Plan.

“Our mission is to improve the health and quality of life of our members,” said DeDe Davis, vice president of operations at Passport, whose presentation was entitled, “Using a Collaborative Platform to Fuel an Effective Physician Quality Recognition Program and Stabilize Medical Costs.” “ikaSystems has been a strong, steady and effective partner for Passport for nearly a decade. Together, we have been able to refine our physician recognition program and accomplish significant results that have helped our members get the right type of care while allowing us to make the most of our Medicaid dollars.”

Passport serves over 160,000 Medicaid members across 16 counties in Kentucky and has been recognized five years in a row as one of the top 25 Medicaid health plans nationally, most recently ranking number 13, by U.S. News & World Report and NCQA. The goal of the provider recognition program is not only to reward physician excellence but also to encourage and recognize quality improvement. As Davis shared at the conference, the program has used Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®) and other metrics to increase well-child screening and participation rates as well as screening rates for women (e.g., for chlamydia, breast cancer and cervical cancer), and it has assisted in decreasing emergency room utilization 8 percent from 2005 to 2008. Member complaints against primary care physicians decreased 89 percent from 2007 to 2009, while Passport’s membership increased 13 percent over the same period.

Held last week at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California, the Healthcare IT Summit brings together industry analysts from Gartner and other organizations with senior information technology executives from healthcare insurer and provider organizations and leading vendor organizations for collaborative discussions on business and information technology issues, best practices and the latest tools and technology for improving business performance. The goal is to assist information technology leaders with sound decision-making around the IT initiatives that will run, grow and transform their businesses, particularly in today’s uncertain environment.

The Passport–ikaSystems partnership began in 2000 with the use of ikaSystems’ utilization analytics, provider profiling and HEDIS reporting tools. The patent-pending ikaProHEDIS+, for comprehensive and proactive quality monitoring and data sharing, was the latest addition to Passport’s portfolio, going live in January of this year.

“Passport truly deserves to share this Innovation Award with us because it shares our vision for improving healthcare quality and reducing costs by working with and rewarding primary care physicians, who play a crucial role in the allocation of healthcare dollars,” said Ravi Ika, chief executive officer of ikaSystems. “Passport devised a technology strategy to directly support physicians in their shared mission of delivering excellent healthcare, using proactive, timely information and appropriate metrics. As we’ve seen time and again with our clients, improving care ultimately lowers medical costs."

Other nominees for the “Best Case Study Presentation, Insurer” award were Microsoft and ZeOmega. ikaSystems also received nominations in the insurer category for “Best Demonstration of Value” and “Solution with the Greatest Market Potential.”

“After years of seeing IT as merely transaction processing and distributing information, CXOs and external influencers now expect IT to be a key differentiator,” said Nancy Hammervik, senior vice president, events, Everything Channel. “We congratulate the winners of the Healthcare IT Innovation Awards.”

For a copy of the award-winning presentation, please visit www.ikasystems.com.

Everything Channel

Everything Channel is the one-stop shop for managing and accelerating technology sales. From branding and recruiting to marketing and sales, Everything Channel offers technology marketers the unmatched breadth and depth of global brands and market intelligence combined with unparalleled audience loyalty and credibility serving all technology sales channels through an extensive database. Everything Channel provides innovative field sales and marketing solutions to arm the sellers of technology with the resources they need to achieve measurable and significant results. For more information, please visit www.everythingchannel.com or www.channelweb.com.

About United Business Media Limited

United Business Media Limited (UBM) is a global media and marketing services company that informs markets and brings the world’s buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print, and with the information they need to do business successfully. UBM serves professional and commercial communities, from IT professionals to doctors, from journalists to jewelry dealers, from farmers to pharmacists around the world. UBM employs more than 6,500 people in more than 30 countries. UBM's businesses operating in the US include CMPMedica, Commonwealth Business Media, Everything Channel, PR Newswire, RISI, TechInsights, TechWeb and Think Services. UBM is listed on the London Stock Exchange (UBM.L) and has a market capitalization of $1.6 billion. For more information, please visit www.unitedbusinessmedia.com.

About Passport Health Plan

University Health Care, Inc., dba Passport Health Plan, provides Medicaid managed care services for approximately 160,000 members in Jefferson and the 15 surrounding counties in Kentucky including Louisville. Passport Health Plan is sponsored by the University of Louisville Medical School Practice Association, University of Louisville Hospital, Jewish and St. Mary’s Healthcare, Norton Healthcare, and the Louisville/Jefferson County Primary Care Association, which includes the Jefferson County Health Department and Louisville's two federally qualified health centers, Family Health Centers and Park DuValle. University Health Care, Inc., contracts with AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan for administrative services. AmeriHealth Mercy and its affiliates comprise the largest family of Medicaid managed care plans in the United States, touching the lives of over two million members nationwide. AmeriHealth Mercy specializes in providing management care services and management for publicly funded programs, with special expertise in Medicaid, Medicare and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). For more information, please visit www.AmeriHealthMercy.com.

About ikaSystems Corp.

ikaSystems is healthcare payers’ premier provider of enterprise-level Web-based technologies for commercial, Medicare and Medicaid lines of business. ikaEnterprise, the company’s flagship product, automates all key processes in the payer business cycle — from marketing and sales through claims administration and customer service to care and quality management — all on a single integrated platform. Using our agile, modular technology, organizations can proactively move to lower administrative and medical care expenses and thrive in even the most challenging environments. To learn more, please visit www.ikasystems.com.

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Media:

For ikaSystems

Sandy Cummings, 774-760-1694

Vice President, Marketing

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For Passport Health Plan:

Jill J. Bell, 502-525-7983

Vice President, Public Affairs

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Source: ikaSystems