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Health management’s potential in coordinated care
Posted on Feb 25, 2013 | Written by Sean McManamy | Comments (0)
A major phase in health reform is drawing near, and one of its goals is increased accountability to deliver quality health care. However, this does not mean health plan member-centered services such as health management will be any less important for achieving health care cost savings and improving clinical outcomes. In fact, they can be a strategy for success for employers and health plans in the post-reform era.
An active, informed participant remains critical for achieving coordinated care. Recently, industry journals and publications have reinforced this assertion, focusing on the importance of “patient activation.” This refers to an individual’s engaged participation in self-managing his or her health, including clinical and preventive adherence and healthy lifestyle.
Hospitals and health systems are working through obstacles to achieve greater patient activation internally. But in addition to these efforts, external health management solutions such as health advocacy, condition management, coaching, and decision-support tools can greatly support and empower the participant toward this same end.
In fact, the right programs can expand the model outside of the doctor-patient relationship, offering a coordinated health improvement experience that helps people stay healthy and out of treatment for preventable issues. By assisting those who may currently be off the radar, but at high risk for preventable medical utilization, we can help fill in the gaps.
The articles below detail the current thinking regarding an individual’s role in collaborative care. They help to show why an individual’s engagement is important in the new health care environment. To learn more about how our health management programs engage and empower participants, please visit Our Approach:
The Health Care Blog: Engaged Patients Translate to Better Outcomes and Costs
This post depicts how patient activation holds a key for success in the goals of health care reform to generate cost savings and improve clinical outcomes.
Health Affairs: The New Imperative of Patient Engagement for Hospitals and Health Systems
This article explores the need for patient engagement in hospitals and health systems. It also outlines the approaches those systems are taking and challenges confronting these attempts.
Forbes: The STAT Ten: Eric Topol, M.D., Speaks Out on Digital Health
This article discusses the need for the individual to be at the center of well-functioning integration and data sharing for collaborative care.
Health Affairs: February 2013; Volume 32, Issue 2
For more up-to-date information on patient activation research, take a look at the latest edition of Health Affairs, which is dedicated to the topic.
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Sean is the senior vice president of Corporate Development. He is responsible for coordinating and creating alignment around HealthFitness’ long-term growth strategy. Prior to HealthFitness, he was vice president, product development and marketing, for Trustmark subsidiary CoreSource, where he was responsible for ongoing development of the company’s data analytics and population health management programs.