As the population grows older, the number of Medicare and Medicaid eligible adult age groups increase. This raise inpatient population will increase the probability of readmissions, unnecessary hospitalization and wrong treatment rate. Patient health needs have to be monitored continuously to avoid all these problems.
Care Management provides the right care at the required time for patients to avoid re-hospitalization. In recent days, Care Management has become a must option for all providers to reduce readmission.
The triple goal of care management is to,
Achieve Population Health
Decrease Health Risk
Reduce Healthcare Cost
To achieve this goal, patients have to be actively engaged in their care process. Some physicians fail to explain to patients about their health condition and the others fail in communicating it properly. But the aim of any physician is to improve the health outcome of the patients. They want their patients to follow the instructions, however considering their health conditions patients often forget things. And, this problem is never-ending.
The solution to solve this problem is the usage of technology in health practices. Easy to use applications and remote monitoring tools will ease the process and help providers to keep an eye on patient’s health status.
So what are all the features a care management solution should have?
1. A solution that helps provider & physicians to create a good Care Plan
A care management solution allows providers to create a customized care plan for all the enrolled patients based on patient’s medical conditions. These care plans are pushed to patient’s integrated health devices so it allows providers to track the patient’s condition endlessly to provide instant care services.
For example, a care plan goal is created and pushed to a diabetes patient. Any changes in blood glucose level will be intimated to the respective physician. A physician will immediately communicate with a patient to identify what has happened and give proper guidance. This will not only help to improve the patient wellness but also keeps patients away from entering into any risk state.
2. A solution which allows physicians to communicate with patients securely
Telehealth- a solution to reduce a communication gap in healthcare. Though Telehealth feature is not new in healthcare sector it is getting popular only in recent years. This feature helps physicians connect to their patients and care coordinators through telecommunication network or through video conferencing. Remote monitoring technology helps physicians to have a track on the patient’s health status and provide treatment from anywhere. This feature also helps rural providers to consult with a specialist before and after treatment.
3. A dashboard that explains everything
With the actionable dashboard, a provider can view details of the total number of patients, risk stratification, disease management heat map, care plan chart, goal adherence chart, and appointments. Each component should be given the option to be filtered and further drill down to know more details.
4. A Tool that will send notifications for the appointment, and alerts on Threshold Breach
It allows to schedule an appointment online in no time, reminds both patients and physicians, and alerts physicians by sending notifications if their patients are at risk.
For example, if a diabetes patient’s blood glucose level goes up, an alert will be sent to the physician. A physician will view the patient details by clicking on the notification. The physician has three options- Call, Chat or Video call- tapping any one of the options will connect physician with the patient.
5. One solution to manage and monitor the whole population health
Similarly, the number of patients near to real-time health status can be tracked simultaneously. The patient’s data will be gathered and recorded to act upon immediately. This way a care management solution helps for the betterment of the overall health of the population.
In simple words, a Care Management Platform should come with features that have the ability to Create Care Plan, Engage patients in a meaningful way & Extend Care beyond the hospital walls.
