The West Health Policy Center, a think tank that intends to reduce health care cuts in part through promoting health IT innovation, opened in Washington, D.C., on Monday, the Washington Post reports.
The center was created by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, who also created the California-based West Wireless Health Institute and the West Health Investment Fund, which develop and fund health IT projects (Khazan, Washington Post, 1/24).
Donald Casey, chair of the center, said the Gary and Mary West Foundation has pledged up to $10 million to launch the center and support fellowships for five years.
Goals of Policy Center
The policy center aims to identify ways to save up to $100 billion in health care costs over the next 10 years (Lavelle, U-T San Diego, 1/24).
The center will carry out research on:
- Health IT innovations;
- Price transparency; and
- Reimbursement models.
Casey said one of the center's goals is to encourage health insurers to use mobile health technology as a way to reduce costs.
Casey noted the potential for mobile health devices to help manage chronic conditions by monitoring vital signs remotely, adding, "We want to change the paradigm to a system that combines mobile health into a bundled payment for insurers" (Washington Post, 1/24).
The center will begin its work with a one-year fellowship program for five researchers, who have been tasked with finding ways to save at least $1 billion in health care costs annually (U-T San Diego, 1/24).