Fostering a High-Performance Health System to Care for the Sickest and Frailest
<p>Despite medical advances, it’s difficult to meet the needs of the growing number of people with multiple complex conditions. Such patients, who may also have mental health conditions and require assistance with everyday tasks, account for a disproportionate share of our nation’s health care spending.</p><p>New analysis from The Commonwealth Fund offers guidance on how to improve outcomes and lower costs for “high-need, high-cost” patients. In a blog post, Melinda Abrams and Eric Schneider, M.D., lay out <a href="/blog/2015/fostering-high-performance-health-system-serves-our-nations-sickest-and-frailest">six principles</a> for improving care for this population—and all patients—starting with identifying patients with similar needs and challenges.</p>
<p>A brief by Douglas McCarthy, Jamie Ryan, and Sarah Klein, meanwhile, highlights <a href="/publications/issue-briefs/2015/oct/models-care-high-need-high-cost-patients-evidence-synthesis">promising models</a> for treating high-need, high-cost patients. The authors also discuss ways to address barriers to successful implementation, including the lack of financial incentives in fee-for service reimbursement.</p>