Achieve Win-Win Outcomes With Your Patients
[Author:
STEPHEN KEELER | VP, Payer & Provider Sales]
Approximately 117 million U.S. adults struggle with one or more chronic health conditions—and one in four have two or more chronic conditions to manage every single day, according to CMS.
That’s why CMS kicked off Chronic Care Management (CCM) in January 2015, reports MedCity News. The agency’s goal was to reduce preventable readmissions and ER visits that are both expensive and have no positive impact on patients’ quality of care. With CCM, physician practices can be reimbursed for coordinating their patients’ care on a remote basis.
So, how can you get CCM to work for you? You can start with two easy steps:
1. Take advantage of the CPT Codes
CMS has opened up some great opportunities to save you money and keep your patients out of the ER. With CCM alone, providers can save their patients and practice money via CPT codes 99490, 99487, 99489, G0506. By following the CPT code requirements, you’ll have a better understanding of where your patients are health-wise in between visits while making money doing it!
Still, there are only 24 hours in the day—and physicians can’t take on coordinating their patients’ care around the clock. So, what can you do?
2. Find a Digital Health Platform that Makes You Money by Keeping Up with Your Patients
You want to care for your patients, but can’t be with them all the time. You also want to take advantage of the CPT codes. And with the whole “value based payments” system hanging over your shoulder, you don’t know how you’re going to show you’re keeping up with your patients. That’s where a digital health platform comes in. Think about it – what is with most of your patients pretty much every moment of the day? A mobile device.
Find a digital health platform that monitors your patients for you, and makes sure your practice meets the CPT code requirements, at a minimum. Even more, get alerts sent to you when your patients submit a symptom, see if they’ve been adhering to their medication, and if you see a downward trend contact your patient directly to triage the situation before it gets too serious, avoiding an ER visit. You make money and your patients are cared for more than ever before.
Why a Digital Health Platform is a MUST for Your Practice
Of course, access to information is what truly enables you to care for your practice’s patients. With real-time access to an elderly patient’s blood glucose readings and weight fluctuations, your care coordinator can hop on the phone in minutes and rectify sugar spikes and weight gains. A pricey ER visit is thus avoided—and your patient gets to sleep in her own bed that night.
Healthier patients—at a lower cost. That’s a win-win.