June 8, 2009

JHM to develop advanced health care services for government agencies

Johns Hopkins HealthCare, the managed care arm of Johns Hopkins Medicine, has signed an agreement with the Winkenwerder Co. for strategic consulting services, a move designed to build on and expand Johns Hopkins’ long-standing relationships with government health agencies.

Under terms of the contract with Winkenwerder, founded by William Winkenwerder Jr., a former assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and a longtime health industry expert, the company will provide consulting services to several entities of the Johns Hopkins Institutions, including JHHC, JHM and some components of The Johns Hopkins University. It will also help guide the development of “innovative solutions for government health care payers and related federal agencies,” according to Patricia Brown, president of JHHC.

One of the first projects will be the design of research and clinical programs to benefit returning wounded military personnel and their families. Johns Hopkins has a 27-year partnership with the Department of Defense, collaborating in many areas to provide advanced care and research. Since 1993, Johns Hopkins has administered the US Family Health Plan for active-duty family members and retirees and their families residing in Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia.

In addition, Johns Hopkins and Winkenwerder officials say they will work together to design and promote model programs for increasing healthy behaviors, preventing and managing chronic diseases, and improving patient safety and clinical outcomes.

The company also is expected to assist Johns Hopkins with electronic patient record technologies and to identify opportunities for further federal support for basic and applied research projects.

Executives at Johns Hopkins and Winkenwerder noted that strong academic medical centers are in a good position to develop and promote innovative and more effective models of care, while also bringing new treatments and better education to patients and their communities.

Edward D. Miller, dean of the School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said, “There are many exciting new opportunities for Johns Hopkins Medicine to work even more closely with the federal government, and we can certainly benefit from Dr. Winkenwerder’s expertise in helping bring these opportunities to fruition.”