Medical Group Takes the Next Step to Implement an Automated, Integrated Care Management Model
Freed Associates partnered with a Bay Area medical group to implement an electronic care management application. The goal was to replace paper-based processes and take significant steps toward building an automated, integrated care management model that would meet the demands of upcoming business and industry requirements.
Situation
Many upcoming initiatives (i.e. ACO, Medical Home) required the care management team of this client to be integrated and connected to each other, the medical directors and other key departments. Departmental leadership wished to move from a static, paper-based, reactive model of care to a dynamic, proactive model of team care; enabling them to treat more complex patients along the continuum of care.
In order to achieve efficiencies and improve productivity, the team needed to move from paper based charts, documentation, and piecemeal communications to an automated model of care that better positioned them to serve physicians and members.
The organization attempted multiple times to secure project resources but had not been successful.
Solution
The organization selected Freed Associates to manage the vendor selection process from developing the proposal and templates for the vendors to presenting selection recommendations to their portfolio committee. Once approved, Freed Associates filled the role of business lead on the care management implementation team, collaborating closely with the project team, the vendor project manager, and the client’s business analyst to resolve issues. Freed Associates managed the business analysis and assessment of the suite of care management services. They examined the programs and business future state workflows and documented the gap analysis for software application functionality. Freed coordinated the business configuration, testing, training, change management and deployment efforts for the care management team, working closely with IT and the vendor technical team.
Through the direction and support provided by Freed, the organization was able to design, configure and implement an electronic care management system. The measure of success of the implementation was reflected in the following:
- Care managers now document inpatient and outpatient member cases online and in a timely fashion, providing immediate access to the documentation to team members, medical directors, customer service and physician services staff
- Revised workflows were defined and implemented, optimizing a team approach to patient care
- Management has visibility to care manager caseloads and can monitor workflow
- Management has access to patient documentation and clinical history, enabling them to provide more valuable clinical support to their teams
Results
The department was able to achieve the transition from paper to electronic care management system through integration with a managed care software application and partnership with Freed Associates. This is a significant step forward for a team that has struggled with the issue of being paper-based for a number of years.
The combined emphasis on training, communications and change management facilitated the team’s transition from paper to an electronic system. Within a few weeks of go-live, the team was comfortable using the application in their daily workflow. The client is proud of the significant progress made with this implementation to date.
