{"id":39771,"date":"2019-12-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/how-cloud-communications-solutions-facilitate-care-coordination\/"},"modified":"2024-09-12T15:18:25","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T22:18:25","slug":"how-cloud-communications-solutions-facilitate-care-coordination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/how-cloud-communications-solutions-facilitate-care-coordination\/","title":{"rendered":"How cloud communications solutions facilitate care coordination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jack is a 55-year-old patient recovering from knee surgery. His team of healthcare providers consists of dispersed clinicians including nurses and physicians within his orthopedic practice, his PCP, and the treating hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n

As this multidisciplinary team continues to coordinate Jack\u2019s acute care and plan for his discharge, they need to collaborate regularly. This results in unproductive phone tag and delays with return calls and related information exchange. Collectively, critical clinical resources are not being optimized, and our patient, Jack, feels like it takes <\/span>forever<\/span><\/i> to receive engagement throughout his patient journey. Something as critical and straightforward as adjusting his medication feels like a painful game of jumping through hoops intertwined with significant delays and wait time. Sound familiar?<\/span><\/p>\n

This scenario plays out time and again in healthcare, leading to fragmented care coordination, low patient satisfaction outcomes, and, most importantly, potential patient safety issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coordinated Care: Good for Patients and Good for Healthcare Providers<\/b><\/h2>\n

Coordinated care can dramatically impact this situation. Let\u2019s say Jack\u2019s team of providers uses a single technology solution that allows them to collaborate in real time to take swift action related to patient care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Team members have access to each other to facilitate care coordination, maximizing opportunity for positive outcomes regarding Jack\u2019s health. During team rounds, the nurse manager can kick off the session by starting a video meeting with screen share, enabling all key stakeholders\u2014regardless of location\u2014to collaborate closely on Jack\u2019s care. The nurse and doctor meet at Jack\u2019s bedside, while an off-site orthopedist joins the meeting via mobile to consult in real time<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jack\u2019s care team learns that the patient needs a different medication, so the doctor messages the pharmacist to confirm order entry and request unit delivery ETA. The pharmacist quickly replies to inform the care team that the requested medication is not on site but will be ready for the patient\u2019s first BID dose later that morning. Jack\u2019s healthcare providers\u2019 ability to join forces helps keep him healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Jack\u2019s health outcomes are the most important factor to consider, care coordination also supports a reduction in his out-of-pocket expenses and enables his collective providers to support their accountable care initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a<\/span> 2015 study<\/span><\/a> of 506,376 chronically ill patients, those that experienced the highest rates of fragmentation in healthcare incurred $4,542 higher healthcare costs, on average, than their counterparts who were able to benefit from coordinated care.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Does Coordinated Care Look Like?<\/b><\/h2>\n

What does coordinated care look like in practice? The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a government agency tasked with improving the safety and quality of the American healthcare system, states that there are two categories of coordinated care:<\/span> broad and specific<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Broad approaches to coordinated care include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n