From shortages of milk and canned goods to challenges finding athletic shoes, large children’s toys and more, consumers across the country have been experiencing the impact of disruptions in supply chain logistics.
For healthcare providers, supply chain woes are a reminder of the havoc that results when a single element of a trusted delivery model breaks down.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
But there’s an important difference between the logistics of supply chain and healthcare delivery: While a global shortage of computer chips can cause bottlenecks in production shutdowns of automobiles, computers and more, in healthcare, a break in the chain causes bottlenecks in the delivery of care, putting lives at risk.
We take for granted that healthcare will be available when we need it, where we need it. Covid-19 gave us a greater appreciation for the pressures providers face in meeting their communities’ healthcare needs on demand, especially during a crisis. But there is still much we must learn about what it takes to put a well-coordinated care experience—from diagnosis through treatment—into motion.
Like the supply chain, if a single element in a care delivery model breaks—such as when diagnostics data are not obtained in time—the entire journey can shut down. For some individuals, missteps at any point present barriers to receiving the right care at the right time. Moreover, just as supply chain issues sometimes result from over-reliance on a single source for materials, putting too much pressure on an already overburdened physician can negatively impact care delivery.
Diversifying support for patients with significant health needs could help prevent bottlenecks. What is needed: a collaborative, highly transparent model that brings all key stakeholders together in meeting the common goal of delivering better outcomes and a better experience at lower cost. Three elements are crucial.
Health Benefit Consultants, Share Your Expert Insights in Our Survey
Victor Lee Victor Lee is CEO of Preveta, a care navigation platform for specialty care.
No. 1: Tightly structured care coordination support
When chronic care management is everyone’s job, it is no one’s job. In these scenarios, patients with complex conditions are left to fend for themselves when it comes to navigating the healthcare system—with potentially disastrous results. I saw this happen when my wife’s lifelong friend, Becky, was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer at the age of 41. Even worse than her prognosis was the frustration of encountering roadblock after roadblock in receiving the care she needed, with no single person accountable for coordinating it all. One medical clinic struggled to obtain the medical records needed to make critical decisions. It took months to receive a referral to a specialist because no one took responsibility for ensuring these requests were submitted correctly. At a time when timely intervention mattered more than ever, Becky couldn’t count on healthcare providers to work together to meet her needs. Instead, my wife, a nurse practitioner, became her advocate. She reached out to care facilities on Becky’s behalf to gather the records needed to inform Becky’s care. However, even then, success was limited because my wife was trying to accomplish these tasks from outside the organizations.
It’s one example of why care coordinators are crucial—and why organizations should empower care coordinators to transform the patient experience. These professionals anticipate patients’ needs and help prevent unnecessary complications. They can advocate for continuity of care, which is especially important when individuals with complex or even life-threatening conditions continually face barriers to care. Further, because certain types of care coordination are reimbursable under Medicare, healthcare providers have access to the financial resources to fund these initiatives. By investing in care coordinators who can anticipate patients’ needs and provide dedicated support, healthcare providers can diagnose complex conditions and identify treatment options sooner. It’s an approach that improves health outcomes and can even save lives.
No. 2: Technology that identifies gaps in care and automatically prompt follow-up
Clinical workflow automation can bolster early detection of disease by combing patient data to look for gaps in care, from appointments to laboratory tests and imaging scans. From there, the system nudges care coordinators to reach out to patients to schedule needed diagnostics, upload results, and ensure physicians receive the information they need.
Consider that prostate cancer has a high five-year rate of survival when it is detected in early stages (stages 1, 2 or three). However, the survival rate falls to 87.6% when it is detected in stage 4. At one of southern California’s largest urology practices, use of clinical workflow automation empowered care coordinators to detect cancer progression more quickly in 89 patients over a twelve-month period. It also led to the identification new treatments for 220 patients, helping to reduce or eliminate side effects of treatment for 127 patients.
There is also a financial advantage to clinical workflow automation. For the above-mentioned urology practice, the emphasis on chronic care management activities increased practice revenue by $12,000 a month per care coordinator deployed.
No. 3: The ability to capture condition-specific data at the point of care. To optimize the care journey for patients with complex or life-threatening conditions, physicians need data that supports deeper, more nuanced conversations at the point of care. Today, leading specialty care practices rely on artificial intelligence-based tools to help care coordinators dig deeper in conversations with patients. Such tools prompt medical assistants to ask condition-specific questions that identify risk factors and help ascertain where patients are in their care journey. With this information in hand, physicians receive the insight needed to inform medical decision-making and in-office follow-up.
The previously mentioned urology practice in Southern California uses AI-based tools empowered care coordinators to gather the data needed to help anticipate patients’ needs throughout their care journey. It also prevented unnecessary complications. Symptoms improved in 295 patients over a twelve-month period.
Fine-tuning the logistics of care coordination
Navigating the maze of healthcare delivery providers, processes and protocols while facing a serious illness is incredibly daunting—but it doesn’t have to be. By embedding expert care coordination support in specialty practices, leaders can ease the logistics of care for patients while achieving better outcomes at reduced cost.
Photo: marchmeena29, Getty Images
Victor Lee is CEO of Preveta, a care navigation platform for specialty care.
