From Harvard Business Review.....
All too often, having a complex condition still requires the patient, the family, or both to become de facto project managers — a job for which they have no formal training — at a time of incredible emotional and financial stress. Ask almost any cancer survivor who coordinated his or her care — navigating between the primary care physician, surgeon, oncologist, radiation oncologist, nutritionist, and physical therapist, all while organizing rides, meals, and time off from work. The vast majority will answer that they — or their husband, daughter, or best friend — did the job.
There is a better way: integrated care. The pioneers in this realm have proven that it can be achieved:
- Integrated multi-specialty care models have been used for the better part of a decade for conditions such as headache, lower-back pain, joint pain, shortness of breath, and chest pain. These models can reduce waiting times, increase delivery of evidence-based practice, improve patients’ experience of care, and reduce costs (mainly by reducing visits and decreasing the use of expensive diagnostic tests). Virginia Mason Health System has regularly deployed these integrated models in conjunction with major employers in Seattle,and has helped these organizations reduce absenteeism due to health problems by up to 50%.