Palliative Care Engagement Platforms Don’t Just Help Patients — They Help Providers

Technology helps with increasing efficiency, defining a patient’s needs, and gathering information before the appointment.

Palliative care physicians know that patients often have a number of questions for their doctors during their first appointment: What does my care plan look like now? How do you collaborate with my existing medical team? Can you help me achieve my quality-of-life goals? Without easily digestible, educational resources widely available, patients may have questions for weeks in between appointments until they are able to visit with their physician again. PCforMe is an online tool, available through the Acclivity Health platform, that uses interactive videos to educate patients and their caregivers about how palliative care works, its benefits, and clearly define their care plan goals. PCforMe’s palliative care questionnaires can be sent to new patients in advance of their appointments to help them collect their thoughts, which will often involve discussions that are stressful and potentially lifechanging. They can bring their completed conversation guide to their appointment, and their responses can be shared ahead of time with their physician, so all parties start the appointment on the same page. Knowing a patient’s goals and concerns in advance helps providers be more efficient with their time, and ensures the patient is able to fully participate in decision making.

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Palliative Care Is Complex, But It Doesn’t Have To Be Confusing

PCforMe simplifies palliative care, empowers patients, and increases satisfaction.

Historically, patients researching palliative care for the first time haven’t had the most helpful resources. Educational webpages tend to use medical terms, and often don’t explain the differences between palliative care and hospice. PCforMe’s interactivity seeks to personalize the education to the patient, and make their research relevant to them.

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What Hospices Need to Know About Primary Care First & SIP Program Benefits

Acclivity Health’s educational webinars cover application tips and planning for long-term success.

Acclivity Health recently partnered with NHPCO to present a two-part webinar series:Current and Emerging CMS Payment Models: Intersection between Hospice, Palliative and Primary Care. The team at Acclivity has experience with CPC+, ACOs, and other payment models similar to CMS’ forthcoming model, Primary Care First. If you couldn’t attend these online sessions, we’re providing overviews of what you missed, what you need to know, and how to prepare for Primary Care First.

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7 Ways Acclivity Can Help Your Hospice Apply For Primary Care First

Setting you up for application acceptance and ongoing success

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Primary Care First (PCF) model is rolling out in 2020, and applications will be available in the coming weeks. The Seriously Ill Population (SIP) model under PCF is designed to improve care for high-need, high-risk patients who currently receive fragmented or inadequate care. To do this, CMS will assign SIP patients to participating hospice programs, paying the providers to coordinate their care and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations.

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4 Reasons Why Hospices Should Consider Participating in Primary Care First

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently unveiled their Primary Care First (PCF) model to improve the quality of care for Medicare patients while reducing costs. PCF consists of two different payment model options and is based on the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus program. This new model will be offered in 26 states and regions beginning January 1, 2020, and may roll out to additional regions as early as 2021.

The Seriously Ill Population (SIP) model under PCF is designed for high-need, high-risk patients who are receiving fragmented or inadequate care. CMS seeks to better coordinate their care and avoid costly hospitalizations. To achieve this, CMS will be assigning SIP patients to participating organizations, and paying the providers a per beneficiary, per month fee to coordinate their care and keep them out of the hospital. Additional reimbursement is available for face-to-face visits and for achieving quality targets. Here are four reasons hospices should seriously consider participating in the SIP model:

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Why Are People Afraid of Hospice?

Acclivity Health’s Chief Innovation and Advocacy Officer explains why patients and families shouldn’t hesitate to seek hospice care.

As seriously ill patients near the end of life, it is often suggested that hospice care become part of their health care plan. Unfortunately, patients often enroll in these services too late to reap the full benefits. Dianne Gray, Chief Innovation and Advocacy Officer at Acclivity Health, says this is often due to a stigma that surrounds hospice care.

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CMS’s new payment models pave way for better primary care

Acclivity Health’s CEO weighs in on industry-changing Primary Care First model.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced a new primary care payment model that will provide an alternative to Comprehensive Primary Care Plus. This new model, called Primary Care First, will be offered in 26 states and regions beginning Jan. 1, 2020. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar predicts that the models will enroll 25 percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries and providers, who must apply to take part, and the program may roll out to all states after five years pending its success.

Here’s what CMS has released so far about their new initiative.

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The Value of Hospice Care Coordination: 7 Ways Providers Gain From Connected Care Communities

Over half of all hospice referrals today come from hospitals that often wait too long to refer a patient into hospice care. Whether they believe a referral suggests they are abandoning the patient or they anticipate higher profits from an extended stay, too often hospitals prevent patients from receiving hospice care in time to make it meaningful.

Independent physicians and specialists often don’t have the time or experience to handle hospice care coordination efficiently. However, when physician groups align with hospice organizations in a formal community structure called a Connected Care Community, these doctors can remain on the front line of their patients’ care.

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Connecting End-of-Life Care Through Community: How Connected Care Communities Help Doctors Meet Quality Metrics

Today’s doctors are trained to keep patients alive, but not always to prepare them for death. From developing a care plan to delivering the news to supporting their patients’ medical, emotional and spiritual needs, most doctors are uncomfortable starting the conversations required to develop the most appropriate end-of-life care plans.

As Baby Boomers retire and age, we have an older generation that has grown up expecting continuing gains to their longevity. But longevity doesn’t mean everyone who lives longer lives in good health. In fact, according to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 60 percent of adult Americans have a chronic disease, and 40 percent have more than one1. Our medical community needs to ensure that the sickest and most vulnerable in this generation will receive comprehensive, high-quality, person- and family-centered care that honors their dignity and choices and is consistent with their goals and values.

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The Unrealized Potential of Hospice and Palliative Care: Improving the Patient’s End-of-Life Journey

Less than 40 years ago, when you went to the Emergency Room at your local hospital, you had no idea what kind of doctor you’d see. Staff physicians in the hospital took shifts in the ER, so you might have an obstetrician casting your broken wrist or a psychiatrist treating your heart palpitations. Beginning in 1979, Emergency Medicine was recognized by the American Board of Specialties. Over the next decades, EM specialists became thoroughly integrated into the continuum of care, so that today, patients coming into to the ER can expect treatment and a proper diagnosis from the right physician. 

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