Alliance Blog

More than 250,000 people die in the United States each year because of medical mistakes, making it the third highest cause of death in the country. Researchers found that most medical errors are caused by systemic problems, including poorly coordinated care, fragmented insurance networks, the absence or underuse of safety nets and other protocols, and ...

The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions is holding its 6th Annual Leadership Summits on June 27 and 28 in Detroit, Michigan, with virtual and in-person options. This is an opportunity to network and learn from key healthcare and benefits stakeholders and change agents. Attendees typically include employers (senior leaders in benefits, HR, finance, healthcare strategy, ...

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has had serious repercussions on the nation’s mental health. A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) survey shows that 25.9 million past-year users of alcohol and 10.9 million past-year users of drugs other than alcohol reported that they were using these substances “a little more ...

Sixteen Washington Health Alliance purchaser/employer members participated in a survey of wellness programs and vaccination rates. Survey participants ranged in size from fewer than 100 to more than 25,000 employees/members. The survey was conducted at the request of Washington House Representative My-Linh Thai, who has special interest in how purchasers incentivize vaccines through wellness programs. ...

Are we talking to one another yet? That was the key question asked in the Washington Health Alliance and Bree Collaborative’s second Framework for Action Webinar in 2022 titled, Interoperability: Continuing to Remove Barriers to Value-Based Success. Based on the presentations and panel discussion, it’s not clear we have the answer or if that’s the ...

Washington Health Alliance Medical Director Dr. Sharon Eloranta presented “Improving Value in Healthcare” to the University of Washington’s Executive Master of Health Administration class on April 23rd. The presentation included an introduction to the Alliance: its structure, mission, vision, main functions and reports, and how the Alliance’s products and programs support value in healthcare.  Dr. ...

The Washington Health Alliance is participating in the leadership of Civitas Networks for Health. Alliance Executive Director Nancy Giunto is joining the 2022 Nominating Committee to select the new Civitas Board of Directors which will replace the current transition board starting on January 1, 2023.  The transition board was put into place when Civitas was ...

A free webinar on using data to address racial bias will be held on May 5th at 1 pm PT with speaker Common Ground Health President and CEO Wade Norwood, who will be presenting findings from its recent Color of Health Report: The Devastating Toll of Racism on Black Lives. The report documents how racism, ...

The enduring strength of the Washington Health Alliance is in large part attributed to senior health care and business leaders in Washington who accept leadership roles on the Board of Directors because they care about collaborating around ways to drive quality and cost transparency and to improve health care affordability for all in our state. ...

More than 1,250 people attended the University of Michigan’s Center for Value-Based Insurance Design 2022 Summit last month, where stakeholders from across the country discussed the opportunities and challenges to reducing health care disparities. During the keynote panel, “Strategies to Reduce Health Care Disparities and Enhance Equity,” Dora Hughes, Chief Medical Officer at the CMS ...

by Alliance Medical Director Dr. Sharon Eloranta Do you enjoy “springing forward” when we make the change from Standard Time (ST) to Daylight Savings Time (DST) each year? For many, this change is more than a minor annoyance. So many people dislike it so much that Washington state passed a law signed by Governor Jay ...

by Alliance Medical Director Dr. Sharon Eloranta Unsafe care for patients is startlingly common – estimates indicate that at least 250,000 Americans die each year from incidents related to preventable medical error, and many more are harmed. To help address this issue, many organizations and businesses have come together to advocate for the creation of ...