For decades, there has been a push to move conventional medicine towards value-based care models. The logic behind this is simple: coordinated care improves outcomes and patient satisfaction. Central to these models is chronic care management.
What Is Chronic Care Management?
Chronic care management is a term referring to the coordinated care of an individual battling one o more chronic conditions. In a traditional setting, these people often fall through the cracks of the medical system since they can only be seen in-office once or twice a year, or when specific treatment is needed.
But chronic conditions do not only exist during appointments. They must be managed full time, and patients often need support in this. With chronic care management, they are given support outside of face-to-face visits that help improve their outcomes.
Why Chronic Care Management Is So Important
Quality management of chronic conditions improves patient quality of life. It can reduce pain, allow them to be less dependent upon medications, and keep them on track with therapy and lifestyle alterations. It also helps reduce the need for additional treatments and avoid trips to the hospital.
Key benefits of chronic care management plans include:
Coordinated Care
Many chronically ill individuals see multiple medical professionals to manage their condition. However, communication between these doctors is typically lacking and can result in conflicting treatments. With chronic care management services, communication is facilitated across the medical team.
Quality of Life
The overarching goal of chronic care management is to improve the quality of life of your patients. Studies have shown that these services improve chronic care conditions, reduce depression, increase socialization, and serve as patient engagement solutions. Rather than feeling like their concerns are only validated during the rare office visit, they feel plugged into a support system.
Building on this, patients tend to come away feeling more empowered in their own abilities to manage their conditions. The direct and frequent support they receive opens up a world of possibilities and can transform their way of thinking about their condition.
Additional Revenue
Finally, chronic care management also benefits your practice by opening up a new stream of revenue. Not only do you receive reimbursements and payments for the services, but there are likely many patients already at your practice unaware that these services exist but would love to benefit from them.
Ultimately, chronic care management is an essential part of any medical practice. To learn more about online support for these programs and develop better medical marketing strategies, reach out to Sequence Health.