It’s All Connected: Tackling a Newly Recognized Health Issue
HFMA President and CEO Joseph J. Fifer explains why traditional healthcare stakeholders are going beyond conventional boundaries to address a different kind of health issue—loneliness.
Innovating to Improve Health Equity
Many Americans are unable to achieve their full health potential because of socioeconomic disparities, addiction, or even their address. To tackle these health inequities, health systems and health plans are testing innovative approaches that could bring financial benefits as well.
Innovating to Care for High-Need, High-Cost Patients
Providers and health plans need to broaden their views to find and implement approaches that deliver greater value to the patient while ensuring the financial sustainability of the system.
Confronting the Loneliness Epidemic
CareMore Health’s Robin Caruso describes a new organizational initiative to address loneliness in at-risk patients.
Meeting Individuals with Mental Health Crises Outside the Hospital
A community mental health program in New Hampshire keeps 100 patients a month out of the emergency department.
Palliative Care in the ED Improves Value
Although implementing palliative care processes in the ED is challenging initially, such care can reduce avoidable costs and unnecessary suffering.
Christiana Care Avoids $100M In Costs by Improving Quality, Cutting Waste
Leaders at Christiana Care have reduced waste by ensuring appropriate use of telemetry and modifying their electronic health record to eliminate ordering of automatically recurring lab tests. They also have improved outcomes by better managing blood products and using a care management tool to target at-risk groups.
Caregiver Support May Help Reduce Costs
Family caregivers’ fatigue was associated with $1,937 higher costs while caregiver sadness was associated with $1,323 higher costs during a six-month period. Patients with severely fatigued caregivers also were more likely to visit the ED.
New Program Seeks to Enhance Care of Elderly Patients
Two national organizations seek to spread the “Age-Friendly Health Systems” movement to 20 percent of all health systems by 2020.
Developing a Specialty Medical Home Contract
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center gastroenterologists have teamed with UPMC Health Plan to develop a specialty medical home contract for patients with inflammatory bowel disease.