MCG Health, part of the Hearst Health network, is an industry leader in evidence-based care guidelines, analytics, and software. Nearly 2,000 hospitals and nine of the largest U.S. health plans license MCG content solutions to drive the most effective care for their patients. MCG editors analyze thousands of research studies and scientific articles each year to aggregate the strongest available evidence to support the full arc of patient care. MCG solutions can help guide appropriate hospital admissions, length of stay, optimize hospital throughput, and support safe and timely discharge.
You can learn more about MCG by visiting www.mcg.com.
Why are you a better choice than the alternatives?
Since 1988, MCG has provided the most robust evidence base for clinical decision support in the healthcare industry. The foundation of MCG began at the well-respect actuarial firm of Milliman which reflects a heritage grounded in data. In 2012, MCG was acquired by the renowned publishing company, Hearst, which allowed us to enhance our clinical guidance with new software and analytics tools. We are the only evidence-based criteria used by nine of the largest U.S. health plans as well as nearly 2,000 hospitals which shows that both providers and payers trust the strong reputation of clinical evidence inherent in the MCG brand.
How many HomeTown Health hospitals have you partnered with?
As of March 2020, MCG solutions are currently licensed by 29 (or 53%) of the 55 hospitals listed in the HomeTown Health member directory.
How have you supported HomeTown Health in their mission?
MCG helps clinicians do what’s best for their patients by supporting them with the best available scientific evidence on current (and emerging) treatments or plans of care. While the 20% of the U.S. population living in rural areas may not live near a state-of-the-art medical research facility, their local hospital providers can still access updated medical evidence to deliver quality care. MCG is supporting rural healthcare facilities with the gold standard in clinical guidance to help them stay informed of the rapidly changing treatment options, as well as evolving reimbursement structures and regulatory demands. MCG can support the “best practice solutions” aim of the HomeTown Health Mission Statement through our expert analysis of the evidence and by helping to guide the clinical judgement of rural healthcare providers.
Can you share a success story?
MCG has multiple success stories with rural health providers:
- In 2017, Aspirus Medford Hospital, a 25-bed, non-profit critical access hospital in Medford, Wisconsin, reported that they had no full denials from payers in the past 5 years by using MCG to justify medical necessity and improve level of care determinations (i.e. Observation vs. Inpatient). They also began using MCG evidence-based care guidelines in their patient-centered rounding to close gaps in care and customize the treatment plan according to the patient’s individual responses to clinical interventions.
- Melanie Hoover, a Quality Director for a critical access hospital in Ohio, told us: “I just can’t say enough about the MCG Team because they help support rural. They’re truly rural provider partners.”
- At MCG Client Forum in May 2019, Kristy Ahearn, RN, a Lead Clinical Team Nurse for Utilization Review, told us, “Utilizing the MCG guidelines, we have had a 38% increase in payments using the [MCG] tool probably 350 times, and we’ve brought in an additional $3.6 million.” She prefaced the importance of hospital revenue integrity a year earlier by telling MCG, “When you think of all these small hospitals that have closed, getting that one good payment could be the difference that makes or breaks them.”