February 29, 2016 - Curant President and CEO, Patrick Dunham, with Curant Senior Director of Pharmacy, David Carver, in Becker's Healthcare - Population health has always seemed like a unicorn to me. Every day I witness exactly what is required to positively impact outcomes for patients with chronic conditions.
There is no silver bullet, no patient portal, no app, no EMR system that will ever be more valuable than a familiar, caring voice asking how you are doing, how your medications are working, if you are taking your medications as prescribed and identifying barriers to medication access and adherence.
I can tell you with certainty that population health begins with a population of one: the one patient you are caring for at any given moment. It is not easy. Patients require a significant amount of handholding between physician visits to remain adherent to their complex medication regimens, in order to reduce the likelihood of becoming acute, to avoid going to the ER or being readmitted. At Curant Health we provide this kind of care because we know it is what's required to improve outcomes and lives. In addition, we provide care like this because it gives providers a documented view of what happens during those 360 plus days of the year the patient is not seen in the provider's office.
The role of the pharmacist is evolving in the team-based approach to medical care. Pharmacists are arguably the most under-utilized resource available to providers, and pharmacists have the highest capability to improve access to care, patient engagement, medication compliance, patient outcomes and to reduce overall healthcare spending at the same time. The pharmacist's ability to improve a hospital's overall performance and reduce Medicare readmissions rate penalties is also very real.
Access to care - increase time per patient interaction, remove clinical administrative burdens
Physicians have less time than ever to spend with patients. According to a study published in The Journal of General Internal Medicine, physician interaction with a patient lasts only eight minutes. The physician time crunch will get worse, as the Affordable Care Act continues to increase coverage access to millions of Americans. The effects of this time shortage are amplified for people suffering from chronic disease states, as they require significant explanation and care to fully understand their conditions and multiple medication therapies.
To read Patrick's and David's full article, visit Becker's Hospital Review.
To learn more about Curant Health, contact Kristin Lindsey, Marketing Director, at klindsey@curanthealth.com