ATLANTA, Georgia – Aetna and Sequent Health Physician Partners today announced a new accountable care agreement that is designed to improve the quality of care, enrich the consumer experience and reduce health care costs for the Aetna members in metro Atlanta.
Aetna members who receive care from the 225 physicians at Sequent Health Physician Partners in Gwinnett County will be able to access more coordinated care, particularly those patients with chronic or complex conditions. Members will also benefit from the improved flow of information among treating physicians within the network. Sequent Health Physician Partners is a working partnership between a network of community physicians and Gwinnett Medical Center. There are approximately 11,000 active Aetna members in the network who will benefit from this agreement.
“This new agreement is great news for our current and future members in metro Atlanta,” said Eric Anderson, Regional Vice President, Care Innovation. “Aetna is committed to helping our members achieve their personal health ambitions, and we’re thrilled to align our resources with Sequent Health Physician Partners so we can connect members to coordinated, accessible, affordable and personalized health care in their community.”
“Our new collaboration with Aetna allows physicians to work together more effectively, coordinating care for our patients,” said Dr. Carlton Buchanan, Chairman of Sequent’s Board of Managers and a practicing emergency medicine physician. “This not only improves care to our patients, it will improve the experience for our healthcare providers and help control healthcare costs for our patients and the local business community.”
Aetna’s accountable care collaboration with Sequent Health Physician Partners will feature a new model of health care delivery designed to offer the following benefits to consumers:
- enhanced coordination of care between doctors and other care providers;
- an improved patient experience through high quality care management programs;
- use of advanced technology to help providers care for their patients;
- lower overall costs for members who see providers that are part of the Sequent Health Physician Partners network; and
- better health care outcomes for patients.
Aetna is working with health care organizations nationwide to develop products and services that support value-driven, patient-centered care for health care consumers. Nationally today, more than 7 million Aetna members receive care from doctors committed to the value-based approach, with approximately 53 percent of Aetna claims payments going to doctors and providers who practice value-based care.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 37.9 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental and behavioral health plans, medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers’ compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna’s customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.
About Sequent Health Physician Partners
Representing the next chapter of healthcare, Sequent Health Physician Partners is a clinically integrated network that is organized, led and managed by physicians. Supported by Gwinnett Health System, Sequent is comprised of nearly 300 physicians and medical providers aligned to collaborate on patient care. By instituting common goals including patient outcomes, coordinated care and aligned performance metrics, Sequent physicians work together to improve community health and reduce the cost of care. For more information, visit sequentphysicians.com
About Gwinnett Health System
Gwinnett Health System (GHS) is the parent company of Gwinnett Medical Center, Gwinnett Medical Group, Gwinnett Cardiology Services and Sequent Health Physician Partner. Gwinnett Health System employs over 5,000 associates and has 800 affiliated physicians serving more than 600,000 patients annually. To learn more, visit gwinnettmedicalcenter.org.
Aetna Media Contact:
Sheridan Watson
212-457-0633
WatsonS1@aetna.com
Sequent Health Physician Partners Media Contact:
Beth Hardy, APR
678-312-3549
kahardy@gwinnettmedicalcenter.org