The core tenets of a care management system

In the move to value-based healthcare, care management is gaining traction as a way to effectively and cost-efficiently manage the health of the independent physician’s population of patients. The renewed focus on what has been termed the “Triple Aim,” that is, sustainable costs, better health outcomes, and improved patient experience, has led to the need to implement a care management system for managing patients and their plan of care.

A brief published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), “Care Management: Implications for Medical Practice, Health Policy, and Health Services Research,” defines care management as a “team-based, patient-centered approach” to helping a population of patients and their support systems to manage their medical conditions more effectively. Care management also “encompasses those care coordination activities needed to help manage chronic illness.”

Care management systems should incorporate data analysis capabilities as well as practical aspects of patient engagement and care coordination. The system should also define “patients beyond their diseases,” according to Ron Geraty, MD, writing for HIMSS. Dr. Geraty states that “care plans that are based solely on disease can be ineffective, contribute to resource waste, and fail to deliver appropriate interventions.”

Patient segmentation is an integral part of a care management system as well. As Dr. Geraty explains, “Segmentation zeroes in on clear steps to advance the Triple Aim across a spectrum of clinical conditions, and interventions are delivered with precision to those who need them the most.”

The three strategies for an enhanced and effective care management system highlighted in the AHRQ brief are to “1) identify population(s) with modifiable risks; (2) align CM services to the needs of the population(s); and (3) identify, prepare, and integrate appropriate personnel to deliver the needed services.”

In a theme similar to Dr. Geraty’s, AHRQ recommends that a care management system should first identify and develop “risk-based approaches to identify patients most in need of care management (CM) services. As part of the process in developing an effective care management system aligned to the specific needs of the patients, AHRQ also recommends using electronic health records (EHRs) “to facilitate care coordination and effective communication with patients and outreach to them.”