The Healthy Aging Brain Center care model generated an annual net cost savings of up to $2,856 per patient at Eskenazi Health, according to the authors of "Healthy Aging Brain Center Improved Care Coordination and Produced Net Savings," published in the April issue of the peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs. They note that with an estimated 4.7 millionMedicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's disease, if the Healthy Aging Brain Center care model were to be implemented nationwide, the potential annual cost savings could be in the billions of dollars.
Implementing the collaborative care model for patients withdementia and depression, which often occur together, reduces patients' behavioral and psychological symptoms, diminishes the burden on patients' informal caregivers and enhances the quality of care delivered to the patient.