Episode 5: Health plan actions to address low-value care

 

Summary:

In this episode VCHI President & CEO, Beth Bortz talks with her fellow National Task Force on Low-Value Care member, Dr. John Keats. Dr. Keats and Beth discuss the role health plans can play in reducing low-value care. Dr. Keats shares how Cigna has led in this work through a number of initiatives, including policy changes around Vitamin D screening.

Our Guest: John Keats, MD

John Keats, MD serves as Cigna’s National Medical Director for Affordability and Specialty Partnerships.  A practicing Obstetrician and Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Dr. Keats is the course director for ACOG’s post-graduate course entitled Quality and Safety for Leaders in Women’s Health Care.  In addition, he serves as a site reviewer for ACOG’s Voluntary Review of Quality of Care program and is a member of that program’s national steering committee.  Dr. Keats is an ex-officio member of ACOG’s national Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Committee.   He received his MD from Brown University and completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCLA Medical Center.

Dr. Fendrick leads the National Low-Value Care Task Force and is a faculty member of Smarter Care Virginia.

Resources:

How Cigna aims to limit healthcare spending increases to mirror the consumer price index