Common use of Control Costs Clause in Contracts

Control Costs. As pharmacists, patients, and others on the team work together, patient health out- comes improve.13–17 Tracking progress and reporting outcomes ensures all members of the health care team involved in the patient’s care are aware of the impact of the collaborative efforts.18 Improve Outcomes Patients, providers, and payers receive appropriate incentives while collaborating to advance patients’ health. For patients: A product, service, experience, or added value that motivates the patient to take actions that will improve health. For health care providers: Appropriate compensation for products and services provided. For payers: Minimizing total health care expenditures while providing high-quality, necessary services. Align Incentives Properly align incentives based on meaningful process and outcome measures for patients, payers, providers, and the health care system. Successful CPAs are reported to include two core components: Health Information Technology Legislation and Incentives Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act (PL 111-5), incentive payments are specifically tied to achieving advancements in health care processes and out- comes, also called “meaningful use” criteria. Pharmacists and pharmacies are not listed as eligible providers for aid through these incentive programs, which may impact their use of EHRs and HIT. Providing incentives to pharmacists could increase their use of EHRs, making it easier to participate in CPAs.