Care Coordination

US lags in usual source of care, primary care access

April 3, 2024 - Adults in the United States are among the least likely to have a usual source of care compared to other high-income nations, a finding that Commonwealth Fund researchers say may signal the nation’s lapses in primary care access. The issue brief, based on 2022 and 2023 data from the International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians...

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Care Coordination Model Increases Primary Care Follow-Up Access

by Sara Heath

The Camden Coalition’s model for care management and care coordination may not have achieved its initial aims of reducing hospital readmissions, but the program was successful in improving...

Walmart Health Dips Its Toes Into Care Coordination, Patient Engagement

by Sara Heath

Walmart Health has unveiled two new partnerships aimed and improving the patient experience, the first of which includes collaboration with Orlando Health set up to improve care coordination and...

Benefits of Care Coordination Tick Up with Patient Activation

by Sara Heath

When it comes to care coordination and social determinants of health interventions, patient engagement and activation are key, according to new data in JAMA Network Open. The study, published by...

Rural Hospitals Focus on Social Determinants of Health, Transportation

by Sara Heath

Rural healthcare organizations excel at addressing social determinants of health despite the barriers blocking patient care access, a new University of Missouri study found. Overall, hospitals and...

Top Considerations for Care Coordination in Chronic Disease Management

by Sara Heath

Care coordination is something of a holy grail in chronic disease management. Without it, patients can’t connect the various—and often disparate—aspects of their care and achieve better outcomes. Care coordination...

Patients Overburdened with Care Coordination Hurts Patient Experience

by Sara Heath

A new poll from the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) shows that care coordination has become a second job for many patients, something AAPA experts said is becoming a major pitfall for...

Aligning Care Coordination Work Amid Healthcare Workforce Shortage

by Sara Heath

Healthcare organizations nationwide are staring down competing priorities to increase care coordination for complex patients while staving off provider burnout for a dwindling workforce. It can sometimes feel like those goals are mutually...

Patient Navigation Program Drops Emergency Department Utilization

by Sarai Rodriguez

A Medicaid accountable care organization (ACO) was able to cut emergency department utilization and increase care coordination through patient navigator interaction, a study published in The American...

SNF Discharge Communication Must Focus on Patient Education

by Sara Heath

The SNF discharge process from inpatient care to recovery at home should be characterized by patient education, caregiver engagement, and follow-up from SNF staff, according to a new report from United...

Considerations for Recruiting, Hiring Community Health Workers

by Sara Heath

As team-based care becomes more common in medical practice, healthcare organizations are considering how they invest in non-clinician personnel, like recruiting and hiring community health workers. A community health worker is “a...

4 Key Use Cases for Patient Data Access, Patient Portals

by Sara Heath

Patient data access continues to be an imperative, not only from a regulatory standpoint but also inasmuch as patient engagement is concerned. But after years of lackluster use of patient portals, the medical industry continues its work...

Breaking Down the Basics of Patient Navigation, Care Coordination

by Sara Heath

Healthcare is more than what happens to a patient inside the four walls of a hospital or clinic; it’s what happens at home, the social services the patient does and does not access, and the...

Top 3 Challenges to Social Determinants of Health Referrals

by Sara Heath

For South Texas Physician’s Alliance, social determinants of health referral has been a learning experience. The organization, which has joined providers across the country in efforts to address...

High Quality Type 2 Diabetes Care Requires Care Coordination

by Hannah Nelson

The vast majority of healthcare professionals agree that care coordination and provider collaboration results in higher quality care for patients with type 2 diabetes, but many providers face time as a...

Care Coordination Program Improves Outcomes, Cuts Readmissions

by Hannah Nelson

A care coordination program designed to promote safe and effective hospital discharges is effective in lowering readmissions to nursing homes, resulting in better patient outcomes and higher quality...

Patient-Centered Tips to Cut Emergency Department Overutilization

by Sara Heath

The emergency department is an exceptionally important healthcare setting, giving patients a place to go when they are experiencing life-threatening and often frightening healthcare symptoms. But these...

How Non-Clinical Staff Enable Patient Engagement, Care Coordination

by Sara Heath

Whether they are called patient navigators, advocates, coaches, or community health workers, non-clinical health workers are becoming increasingly important for patient engagement and care coordination. About half of all healthcare...

How Do Patient-Centered Medical Homes Support Patient Engagement?

by Sara Heath

As healthcare professionals work to meet the financial and care quality demands of value-based care models, they need to lean on practice transformation and patient engagement strategies to meet those...

Patient Care Navigators Increase Care Quality, Decrease Costs

by Sara Heath

Non-clinical laypeople make effective patient care navigators, offering a low-cost solution for offering care coordination services to aging cancer patients trying to access quality treatment,...