The Office of Management and Enterprise Services shall contract for 2012 with a vendor that offers a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant web-based, doctor-patient mutual accountability incentive program. The purpose of the contract is to conduct a pilot project to test the value proposition of a program that offers financial incentives to both the health care provider and the patient for each care encounter in which the provider and patient incorporate evidence-based medicine treatment guidelines, patient health education remedies and other proven medical interventions made available and recorded through the program in the rendering and utilization of health care. The Office shall use operating funds to underwrite the cost of this pilot project and shall not pass these costs along to the participating state agencies, or school boards or providers. The Office may retain or share with participating state agencies or school boards any savings realized as a result of the pilot program. The program will demonstrate a self-sustaining financial model that, through the savings incurred by better utilization health care programs, will offset the costs of this program with savings. This program will offer the health care provider the flexibility to use the health care provider's clinical judgment to adhere to or deviate from the program's treatment guidelines and still receive a financial incentive, as long as the health care provider communicates care guidelines and patient health education remedies to the patient that include an explanation of the provider's adherence or reason for nonadherence to the guideline. The vendor managing the pilot program shall offer a financial reward to the patient for responding to the vendor's guidelines for care and patient education remedies by demonstrating the patient's understanding of the patient's health condition, by declaring or demonstrating adherence to recommended care, by agreeing to allow the patient's physician to view patient's responses and acknowledge the patient's health accomplishments, and by judging the quality of care given to the patient against these guidelines and recommended care. Any communications to patient and provider shall be in compliance with all HIPAA regulations and standards. Participation in the program shall be voluntary to both the provider and patient on an encounter-by-encounter basis. The program shall be offered and administered by the program vendor through an Internet application that is HIPAA-compliant. This pilot project shall include a minimum of fifteen thousand beneficiaries of the Office to achieve a statistical significance and collect and analyze data over a period of three (3) years in order to determine the program's effectiveness and ability to become self-funded.

Added by Laws 2011, c. 326, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2011. Amended by Laws 2012, c. 304, § 974.