High-impact, high-value surgical care navigation model proven to significantly speed patient recovery and lower overall healthcare costs
CAMDEN, NJ (September 1, 2022) – Conner Strong & Buckelew, a leading insurance brokerage and employee benefits consulting firm, today announced that it has partnered with Goldfinch Health, the industry leader in clinical navigation through surgery and recovery, to provide its self-funded clients access to surgical care management tools and solutions that generate significant cost savings and superior patient outcomes.
Goldfinch Health uses a model in surgical care navigation known as Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (“ERAS”). ERAS is founded on patient-centered, evidence-based pathways proven to reduce a patient’s surgical stress response, optimize their physiologic function, and facilitate recovery. These care pathways form an integrated continuum, as the patient moves through the preadmission, preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of surgery. By optimizing the care patients receive, this process can lead to a 50% reduction in opioid abuse, a 75% reduction in readmission rates, and a 32-day faster recovery rate, all of which translates to an average cost saving of $10,000 per patient.
“Surgical recovery can be a challenge for even the healthiest people, and proper facilitation and support of recovery is critical. Goldfinch Health executes the most efficient strategy in surgical recovery through ERAS,” said Jill Ambrose, RN, Director of Wellness and Population Health at Conner Strong & Buckelew. “The ERAS method is centered around the patient’s pain management. With support from the surgical care team and Goldfinch Health, the patient’s immediate need for opioid use is reduced, while also lessening the risk for acute pain to become a chronic pain management issue.”
“The unfortunate truth about surgery today is that it is far too invasive for far too many people. Not only can surgery be expensive, but it also exposes our family members, friends, and coworkers to complications like infections, dangerous doses of opioid painkillers, and extended recovery. Patients pay for these consequences and so do their employers,” said Brand Newland, PharmD, CEO of Goldfinch Health. “It doesn’t have to be this way. We are proud to partner closely with Conner Strong & Buckelew to bring a higher standard for surgical care.”
This solution from Goldfinch Health joins a long list of products Conner Strong & Buckelew provides that are designed to help its self-funded clients manage the high costs associated with chronic and catastrophic claims. Other products like BeneRN and ClaimCheck are similarly designed to ensure plan members are being properly supported, care is appropriate and provided in the best setting, and that large costs are intensely scrutinized for accuracy. This combination of patient support and macro cost management ensures Conner Strong & Buckelew clients receive the management and oversight they need to keep costs down and their plan members healthy.
“This partnership with Goldfinch Health reflects our commitment to providing our clients with a holistic suite of tools that lead to powerful health benefits and keep overall healthcare expenses down,” said Kristine Klepper, Conner Strong & Buckelew Executive Partner, Practice Leader, National & Major Accounts. “Surgeries are expensive and highly taxing on the body. As such, the patient-centered, evidence-based ERAS approach goes a long way in producing better outcomes for everyone involved. We’re excited to work with Goldfinch Health as we continue to make strides in surgical care management.”
About Conner Strong & Buckelew
Conner Strong & Buckelew is among America’s largest insurance, risk management and employee benefits brokerage and consulting firms. The firm is an industry leader in providing high-risk businesses with comprehensive solutions to prevent losses, manage claims, and drive bottom line growth. Its employee benefits practice focuses on providing best-in-class benefits administration, health and wellness programs and strategic advisory services.
Founded in 1959 with offices in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Delaware, Florida, and Georgia, Conner Strong & Buckelew has a team of 450+ professionals, serving clients throughout the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.connerstrong.com or follow us on LinkedIn (@ConnerStrong&Buckelew), Twitter (@connerstrong), Facebook (@connerstrongbuckelew) and Instagram (@connerstrongbuckelew).
About Goldfinch Health
Goldfinch Health (https://www.goldfinchhealth.com/) minimizes high-cost claimants and optimizes the surgery experience within existing provider networks, saving companies and employees time, money and addiction. Goldfinch does this with an innovative combination of tech-enabled clinical navigation and opioid-minimizing Enhanced Surgical Pathways.
