Brent T. Feorene, the vice president of Health Dimensions Group, looks at how the move toward fee-for-value health care has speeded the rise of post-acute medicine, which he calls “a medical provider model not bound by traditional delivery locales or roles. For certain population segments, bringing medical care out of acute and ambulatory settings and into the community is de rigueur. It delivers timely access and collaborative, team-based care — both required for success in a future defined by value.”
“Post-acute medicine delivers care in community-based and other nontraditional settings. It ensures that a ‘patient-centered health neighborhood’ is created for the chronically ill, often frail patients post-acute medicine providers serve. The settings include the patient’s place of residence, such as the home or assisted living facility, as well as the skilled nursing facility and, increasingly, complex care clinics. The focus is not only on delivering comprehensive primary medical care, but also on addressing the nonmedical needs of patients to ensure the best outcomes.”
“For hospitals and health systems, a post-acute medicine strategy can leverage services such as home health, hospice, transition programs and complex care clinics as well as integrate the ‘silos of excellence’ that often characterize highly successful but disjointed programs. Post-acute medicine offers the direction and coordination an organization needs to extend its reach beyond the acute setting and flourish in a value-based environment — in which traditional roles and silos are giving way to integrated care partnerships.”
He gives some examples of how the expansion of post-acute care can work.
