high-need patients

Medical Homes and High-Need Patients

With five percent of patients accounting for 50 percent of health care costs, such high-need patients are the subject of increasing attention as health care providers search for better ways to serve them at less cost. Such patients are especially challenging when they lack the financial resources and personal support systems needed to address their considerable medical needs. One of those ways is through the concept of the medical home: an approach to primary care, also often referred to as a patient-centered medical home, that is a team-based approach to delivering patient-specific, coordinated, accessible care that focuses on quality and [...]

iqtsupport2017-04-14T06:00:55-04:00April 14, 2017|Uncategorized|

The More High-Need Patients, the Better the Care

Physician practices that serve higher proportions of high-need patients have lower health care costs, fewer hospital admissions, and fewer emergency room visits than physician practices that serve lower proportions of high-need patients. This was the conclusion of researchers who analyzed four years of claims data for high-needs patients in Michigan. The study also found some evidence that smaller medical practices are more effective in serving high-need patients than larger practices. The study, “Outcomes For High-Needs Patients: Practices With A Higher Proportion Of These Patients Have An Edge,” was supported by the Commonwealth Fund, and is summarized by the fund here. [...]

iqtsupport2017-03-20T06:00:30-04:00March 20, 2017|Uncategorized|