Five Arkansas health care organizations are teaming up in hopes of improving Arkansans' health in a cost-effective way, the groups announced Thursday.
The five health providers -- Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Baptist Health, St. Bernards Healthcare, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Washington Regional Medical System -- have formed The Partnership for a Healthy Arkansas, a shared services organization.
The entities will share certain services, such as information technology and call centers, but each will maintain its independence. The practice is becoming commonplace across the country as an effort to improve quality of care, reduce the cost of care and improve the patient experience.
"So all sorts of partnerships and alignments are happening because everyone's realizing -- as we're trying to cut costs, reimbursement is dropping, there are more regulations, more measures that we're trying to meet -- that we're stronger together than separately," said Dr.
