WASHINGTON – DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance will write the health promotion and wellness section of an online guide to value-based healthcare purchasing.

The member association that represents healthcare stakeholders, including healthcare information technology personnel, was recently awarded a grant for the work from the National Business Coalition on Health.

The Value-Based Purchasing Guide, which the NBCH will make available through its Web site, will provide a clearinghouse of information on various value-based purchasing concepts. It is intended to help employers and other healthcare purchasers assess available VBP strategies, choose an appropriate strategy, plan an effective launch and connect with resources and partners.

"We are extremely pleased that the NBCH has chosen DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance to contribute to this project," said Jeanette C. May, vice president of research and quality for the DMAA. "With rising healthcare costs creating ever greater demand for programs to promote employee health and productivity, employers need guidance on the many good health and wellness choices in the marketplace."

Dennis White, senior vice president of value-based purchasing for the NBCH, sees the DMAA as a good fit for the health promotion section of the guide.

"DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance is a recognized leader in population health management and we look forward to the insight it offers on value-based worksite health and wellness," he said.

The health promotion – or wellness – section of the guide will include sections on value-based benefit design, physician payment reform, physician performance and reporting and foundational business diagnostics (data warehouse and management). Each section will include introductory text, references to relevant research, relevant NBCH policy statements, cases studies and a "getting started" guide.

The guide is expected to be available by the end of the year.