Publications/Press Clippings

Legislation paves way for accountable care organizations in New Jersey NJBIZ (8.24.2011)
Health care providers in Camden, Trenton and Newark are expected to launch Medicaid accountable care organizaionts, ACOs, early in 2012, following the adoption of legislation that paves the way for these urban health care pilot programs to sare inthe Medicaid cost savings expected to result from innovative health care delivery models.

Are high-utilizers the key to lower health care costs? Family Practice Management Blog (2.4.2011)

In the latest issue of The New Yorker, Atul Gawande tells the story of Jeffrey Brenner, MD, a family physician in Camden, N.J., whose passion for the last decade has been to identify the people in his community who use the most medical care and do something to help them. In May of 2009 Brenner closed his regular practice to focus full time on this effort, which some refer to as “health care hot-spotting.

Governors get advice for saving on Medicaid New York Times (2.3.11)

Fearing wholesale cuts in Medicaid by states with severe budget problems, the Obama administration told governors on Thursday how they could save money by selectively and judiciously reducing benefits, curbing overuse of costly prescription drugs, and reducing fraud.

Discovering – and lowering – the real costs of health care Harvard Business Review

The rising costs of health care are a pressing issue in the United States and elsewhere, but we can’t reform the system without better ways of understanding the relevant costs and how to measure them. To achieve that, I’m pursuing a new initiative with my colleague Robert S. Kaplan to bring modern cost accounting to health care delivery.

ACO Pilots for New Jersey — will they ‘fly’?Legal Health Information Exchange (1.19.2011)

The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (NJHCQI) brought together several distinguished experts to discuss the development of and implications for the new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) models and rules being established on a federal and state level for Medicare and Medicaid.  The focus of the seminar was on exploring what ACOs were (and what they were not), as well as the anticipated CMS rule and pending New Jersey legislation for a Medicaid ACO demonstration project.

A better cure for what ails New Jersey The Star Ledger Editorial (1.25.2011)

One of the most promising experiments in health care reform is taking place today in Camden, the state’s poorest city.  A young doctor named Jeffrey Brenner has organized a team that works with the most burdensome patients , who absorb a giant share of our health care spending.

Focus on ‘super users’ saves lives and dollars in New Jersey The Star Ledger (1.25.2011)

Family doctor Jeffrey Brenner is pioneering a new way to deliver health care in Camden that we are likely to see much more of in the years ahead.  He focuses on a small group of “super users” who make frequent hospital visits and absorb an outsized share of medical spending.

The Hot Spotters:Can we lower medical costs by giving the neediest patients better care? The New Yorker (1.24.2011)

If Camden, New Jersey, becomes the first American community to lower its medical costs, it will have a murder to thank. At nine-fifty on a February night in 2001, a twenty-two-year-old black man was shot while driving his Ford Taurus station wagon through a neighborhood on the edge of the Rutgers University campus.

NJ Lawmakers advance bill on rewards for preventing, controlling illness among NJ poor The Star Ledger (1.24.2011)

Declaring the heath care system “hopelessly broken,” lawmakers in Trenton are advancing legislation that would provide financial rewards to doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies for preventing and controlling illnesses — rather than just treating them — in New Jersey’s poorest communities.

Residents get chance to heal Courier Post (7.19.2010)

It’s a war wound too hidden to show off, too close to tragedy to brag about. Doctors were only able to remove one of the two bullets that lodged in 20-year-old Tommeik Harris’ jaw when he was shot a little over four months ago. But at Cooper University Hospital, Harris met an outreach worker — a Camden resident not much older than himself — who promised to help him recover even after his physical wounds had healed.

Records database good for patients Courier Post (9.24.2009)

Camden health systems moving in the right direction with electronic records system. One of the biggest hassles for anyone dealing with a health issue and going to hospitals or new doctors is records. Getting medical records, transferring medical records, it slows down the works and adds another level of inconvenience for both patients and doctors.

 Health records database touted Courier Post (9.23.2009)

Health care providers, patients and state offi cials gathered at the Fairview Community Center on Tuesday to celebrate the creation of an electronic health record exchange that will link the city’s three major health systems, laboratories and primary care practices.

Camden gets N.J.’s first health information exchange NJ Biz (9.23.2009)

While Camden hasn’t often projected the picture of health, Gov. Jon S. Corzine on Tuesday morning praised the city, saying “Camden is quickly becoming a model for improving the quality of health care in America’s cities.” Prompting Corzine was the announcement of the creation of the Camden Health Information Exchange, which aims to link private doctors, hospital emergency rooms and community health centers, and the city’s 79,000 residents.

Commisioner Howard joins Camden HIE NJDHSS (9.22.2009)

Health and Senior Services Commissioner Heather Howard today joined the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers to announce the creation of an electronic health information exchange that links private doctors, hospital emergency rooms and community health centers as part of a citywide collaborative.

Camden hospitals to create health records exchange Philadelphia Inquirer (9.22.2009)

In a model that could be copied by other cities, the three major health systems serving Camden are joining with local doctors to share health records of patients who give their permission, enabling doctors to give more timely and informed care.

 Citywide records system to keep tabs on patients Courier Post (9.22.2009)

Jeff Brenner, a family physician at Cooper University Hospital, can’t count how many times patients have come to his office with a vague story about a recent trip to a specialist or the emergency room. Some don’t remember where they were treated or why, perhaps because they have mental issues or a language barrier, he said.

Initiative to target Camden diabeticsCourier Post (5.18.2009)

In a recent five-year period, 6,295 Camden residents visited local hospitals 48,000 times for conditions related to diabetes. Altogether, they racked up $1.2 billion in charges. Hospitals collected 13 percent of that. To health officials, those numbers are stark proof that local diabetics haven’t been getting the care they need to stay healthy.

Coalition helping patients Courier Post (3.22.2009)

For the past year and a half, a coalition of Camden health care providers has kept tabs on the city’s chronic hospital users in an effort to bring them better care and keep them out of costly emergency rooms. A nurse practitioner, social worker and community health aide have followed up with 92 “super users” since the pilot program launched in September 2007, offering them free in-home health care, social services and personal attention.

An ER alternative Philadelphia Inquirer (3.9.2009)

Emergency room doctors noticed the difference. Many of their “super user” patients weren’t coming around much anymore. These troubled people, struggling with chronic illness – and often with homelessness and addiction – routinely appeared at Camden hospitals, racking up huge bills and straining already crowded emergency rooms. One person was seen at a local ER 324 times over five years. Another sought emergency care 115 times in a single year.

Medical plan aids patients, hospitals Courier Post (10.13.2008)

Between dealing with an estranged family and looking for a place to live, David Collins said it just never occurred to him to think about his health — until his drinking problem began destroying his body. This year, the 55-year-old homeless man landed in the hospital twice for a total of 43 days. Doctors diagnosed him with cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and complications from untreated diabetes.

Repeat ‘super-users’ are swamping the ER The Star Ledger (7.13.2008)

Bean-thin and sallow, George tugged on a cigarette in the blistering parking lot of a Camden men’s shelter. Standing on the pavement, his foot on a picnic bench, he recalled how he took his fi rst drink at 13. George, here talking to a social worker in Camden, is an emergency room ‘’super user,’’ having been admitted to ERs in the small city between 30 and 40 times in the past year.