BCHT Affiliates: Integrated Healthcare Association

BCHT is physically co-located and programatically in partnership with the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA). IHA is a California-wide leadership group comprised of major health plans, physician groups, and hospital systems, with additional representation from health technology firms, purchasers, pharmaceutical firms, and academic researchers. IHA promotes quality improvement, accountability, and affordability of health care through a number of programs, including the largest private pay-for-performance program in the country, an episode-of-care payment project for major orthopedic and cardiovascular procedures, and a program to promote value-based purchasing of implantable medical devices.

BCHT Director James Robinson serves as a member of IHA's Board of Directors and is the organization's Senior Director for Medical Technology. BCHT and IHA co-sponsor policy roundtables on medical devices and other topics and share expertise related to the Center's research activities and IHA's programs concerning pay-for-performance, efficiency enhancement, and accountable care organizations.

For more information on IHA, see www.iha.org.

To read the article by BCHT Director James Robinson, IHA Executive Director Thomas Williams, and IHA Pay for Performance Director Dolores Yanagihara on "Measurement and Reward for Efficiency in California's Pay for Performance Program," go to Health Affairs. Information on IHA's Value-Based Purchasing initiative can be found at its website.