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Significance of Care Coordination Programs in New York City

Author: Jessica Merrel
by Jessica Merrel
Posted: Apr 29, 2019

Individuals experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis often end up in an Emergency Department (ED) where they are stabilized and either hospitalized for further treatment, or released with referrals for follow-up care. But, unfortunately the system is poorly coordinated and fragmented, often resulting in lack of follow-up care, higher healthcare costs, inadequate services, reduced satisfaction for both clients and the care providers, and lower life expectancies which led to the creation of care coordination programs in New York City which identifies individuals who need additional care by a mental health counsellor. A patient with serious mental health or substance use issues is quickly examined and referred to a coordinated program of care that addresses their physical and mental health needs.

The objectives of the program include improved care and outcomes for the clients, alongside a reduction in the number of return visits to the ED. When an individual is part of an ongoing system of care, it hardly necessitates return visits to the ED. In care coordination, the patient's needs and preferences are known and communicated at the right time to the right people, and that this information is used to guide the delivery of safe, appropriate, and effective care.

When it comes to achieving coordinated care, there are two ways:

  1. Using broad approaches that are commonly used to improve health care delivery like teamwork, care management, medication management, health information technology and patient-centered medical home.
  2. Using specific care coordination activities like communicating/sharing knowledge, establishing accountability and agreeing on responsibility, determining patient needs and goals, developing a proactive care plan, assisting with transitions of care, supporting patients’ self-management goals, monitoring and follow-up, including responding to changes in patients' needs and working towards aligning resources with patient and population needs.

Significance of Care Coordination:

It has been identified as a key strategy that has the potential to improve the effectiveness, safety, and efficiency of the American health care system which can be attributed to delivery of well-designed, targeted care coordination to the right people that can improve outcomes for everyone: patients, providers, and payers.

When talking about care coordination, there are obstacles within the American health care system that must be overcome to provide this type of care. It is important to redesign a health care system to better coordinate patients' care for the following reasons:

  1. Not only are the current health care systems disjointed, but also processes vary among and between primary care sites and specialty sites.
  2. Patients lack a clear understanding about why they are being referred from primary care to a specialist, how to make appointments, and what to do after seeing a specialist.
  3. Sadly, specialists or primary care physicians do not consistently receive clear reasons for the referral or adequate information on tests that have already been done.
  4. Care is less efficient which can be attributed to referral staff dealing with many different processes and lost information.

It is advisable that you get in touch with acclaimed and reputed outpatient facilities in New York City for services like addiction medicine, general medicine and Mental Health or for treatment for a full range of health care needs.

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Author: Jessica Merrel

Jessica Merrel

Member since: Feb 02, 2016
Published articles: 7

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