Over the past years, more and more providers in the healthcare industry have considered incorporating chronic care management (CCM) into their practices. This is expected as CCM can yield many benefits for medical practices by improving the overall quality of care offered to patients dealing with chronic illnesses, especially when they are at home.
Given this, it’s in your best interest to learn all you can about CCM. This is why we’ve put together a short discussion on CCM and everything you need to know about it.
What is Chronic Care Management?
To put it simply, chronic care management is defined as non-face-to-face visits provided to patients that have been diagnosed with two or more chronic conditions that are expected to last for at least 12 months. This service was introduced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as a way to address the growing number of adults who live with multiple chronic health conditions.
Is There a Need for Chronic Care Management?
To answer this question, we first have to consider how much of the general populace is afflicted with a chronic disease. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention details that 4 in 10 adults in the United States are living with two or more chronic diseases. And while these numbers alone are quite worrisome, it’s also important to note that many of these chronic diseases are among the leading causes of death and disability in the country. Now, CCM won’t prevent these numbers from increasing. However, what it will do is to improve the quality and coordination of care among the people who are suffering from chronic diseases.
Benefits of Chronic Care Management
Now that you know more about what CCM is, you are most likely wondering how CCM actually benefits patients and your practice.
When it comes to how CCM benefits your patients, its effect is most evident when you take a look at things from a care coordination standpoint. Because it is geared towards monitoring the patient’s chronic conditions, they no longer have to go to different healthcare suppliers to address their health issues. This coordinated approach to the patient’s health helps greatly as the healthcare provider sees the entire picture all at once without any disparities that could hinder the patient from getting the care they need.
Aside from helping the patients, CCM also benefits healthcare providers simultaneously. This is because it brings with it a steady stream of income, and increased revenue should offset the costs that come with incorporating CCM. Aside from the monetary benefit, it also raises the personal satisfaction of the patients. This is because CCM takes a more hands-on approach when it comes to managing chronic diseases, and the increase in patient satisfaction incentivizes them to remain with your service.
Conclusion
While it might be difficult to incorporate CCM services at first, the benefits alone make it worth the time and resources that you’ll need to invest. By making this upfront investment, you put yourself in a great position to improve your practice while providing patients who suffer from chronic diseases and conditions with the best care possible.
If you’re looking to improve your services, Medistics Health is just what you need. We provide chronic care management in the US through the use of our Remote Patient Monitoring System. If you want to learn more about this, contact us today!