As debilitating as COVID-19 has been for people around the world, it also served to highlight many challenges just beneath the surface in the health care industry. As physicians, nurse practitioners, counselors, and other providers spent the last two years trying to adapt to an evolving landscape, they saw new doors opening up in the home health care services realm.
Health plans and providers are realizing how quality medical care delivered in the home can improve the effectiveness of care while helping to manage costs of care.
Home-based care has been offered by Medicare Advantage, Managed Medicaid, and even ACA plans for a number of years. – This benefit may include delivery of primary medical care and physical exams, nutrition, and physical therapist, and behavioral health services in the patient’s home. For medically vulnerable adults and seniors, including those who are at greater risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19, quality in-home medical care can be a lifeline.
It’s not just patients who don’t want to visit the hospital, either. Increasingly, primary care providers, physician assistants and nurse practitioners are changing their preferences as well. Several surveys have shown that many doctors responsible for discharge planning now prefer to refer patients to primary care services delivered in the comfort of their own homes.
In a post-COVID world, increased use of technology, the transition from fee-for-service models to value-based care, and the expansion of telehealth options could help reduce high costs and inefficient utilization of healthcare resources.
At Emcara Health, we believe that health professionals with specialized training should be evaluated based on their ability to keep populations healthy, rather than how many tests they order or procedures they do. This model allows primary care providers to focus on what patients really need in order to be their healthiest selves, including integrating more behavioral health support for older adults with chronic conditions.
As one of our physicians put it, paying for health care has traditionally been like buying a latte – a singular transaction where a service is provided in exchange for a fee. This is all well and good as long as the patient only visits the hospital or ER once in a while. However, this model does nothing to incentivize providers to go beyond the office visit to keep the patients healthy and happy in the long-term. Value-based care systems, on the other hand, promote consistent, personalized care that ultimately keeps people out of hospitals unless truly necessary and reduces the total cost of care.
Emcara Health patients have access to their care team for house calls and to speak via phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our patients have much more personalized relationships with their care teams thanks to frequent in home care.
If you are a health plan looking for a home-based primary care delivery partner dedicated to serving vulnerable patients, we can help.
We work with health plans who recognize that high-needs patients must have an increased level of care that’s more personal and intensive. With 7+ years of experience as a value-based national medical group, we provide care by integrating the patients’ complex medical, social, and behavioral care needs.To request more information, please click here or call us at 615-721-7020.
