Here are five things to know:
1. With this designation, Southwest General is now a part of Optum’s Spine and Joint Solution program, which assists large, self-insured employers handle increasing healthcare costs.
2. Employers involved in Optum’s Spine and Joint Solution program receive a bundled payment rate for patients’ episodes of care. This fixed rate is intended to lower costs for participants.
3. Optum and Southwest General will negotiate the bundled payment rate.
4. Patients may now pay a bundled rate for spine, hip and knee surgeries performed at Southwest General’s Orthopedic Joint Center.
5. Many hospitals are jumping into bundled payments, as the flat rates cut down out-of-pocket costs for patients.
More articles on practice management:
5 things to know about Twin Cities Orthopedics’ soon-to-be constructed outpatient clinic
Hospital prescription drug spending per admission rallies 39% — 4 things to know
5 trends in ambulatory EHR: Who has it & how they want to use it
