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The Caregiver Innovation Show
Reducing No-Shows and Avoidable ER Visits
We dive into the critical healthcare challenge of maintaining patient engagement between visits and how it leads to missed appointments and preventable ER visits that strain the entire system financially and operationally.
• Root causes include practical barriers like transportation issues, simple forgetfulness, symptom uncertainty, and feeling disconnected from care teams
• Continuous engagement models like Addison Care offer solutions through appointment reminders, transportation coordination, and symptom monitoring tools
• Cultural sensitivity in engagement systems helps make healthcare feel more approachable to different communities
• "Gentle accountability" provides friendly, supportive nudges rather than punitive monitoring
• These systems serve as early warning mechanisms, allowing providers to intervene before situations become emergencies
• Continuous engagement directly supports value-based care goals by improving outcomes while managing costs
• Building support bridges beyond formal healthcare encounters could transform both individual health outcomes and system efficiency
Think about how intentionally building these kinds of support bridges, extending care beyond formal encounters, could change the game for health and well-being—for individuals and for the whole system.
Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're getting into something really critical in health care keeping patients engaged, you know, between the actual visits.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a huge area. Our sources are pointing to these two major issues Missed appointments, which just throws everything on, derails the whole care plan, sometimes Exactly, and then also a lot of ER visits that well might have been preventable.
Speaker 1:And these aren't small problems, right. They put a real strain on the system financially and just in terms of resources.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. The costs are pretty staggering when you add it all up. But what's interesting, I think from the sources, is why this happens.
Speaker 1:It's not always patients just ignoring things, not usually no.
Speaker 2:It often boils down to more practical stuff like trouble getting a ride or, honestly, just forgetting an appointment symbol forgetfulness yeah, or maybe they have a symptom and they're just not sure is this serious? Do I need to go in now? Or maybe they just feel kind of disconnected from their care team that feeling of distance yeah, right. So the big question becomes how do we, you know, bridge those gaps? Yeah, the time outside the doctor's office.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that leads us to this idea that came up in the materials continuous patient engagement, and one specific example mentioned was this Addison Care model. Can we unpack that a little?
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure. So Addison Care. As described, it's basically an at-home system. Think of it as a way to keep communication flowing.
Speaker 1:Okay, so like reminders.
Speaker 2:Reminders definitely For appointments, maybe meds too, but also helping coordinate transport, if that's an issue.
Speaker 1:Ah, addressing that barrier directly.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and even tools for patients to monitor symptoms easily and get some guidance on whether they need to act on them.
Speaker 1:That's interesting, and the sources mention something about cultural sensitivity.
Speaker 2:Yes, that seemed pretty key. It's not designed as a one size fits all thing. Apparently it could be adapted.
Speaker 1:How so.
Speaker 2:Well tailoring the communication style, the approach to resonate better with different communities make it feel more approachable, less clinical, perhaps.
Speaker 1:Which tackles that disconnect feeling we talked about Precisely. So it sounds like it fosters a sort of gentle accountability. That's a phrase used.
Speaker 2:I like that term. Yeah, it's not punitive, it's friendly reminders, supportive nudges for appointments, meds, self-care.
Speaker 1:Just keeping people on track, without making them feel lectured or pressured.
Speaker 2:Exactly Like a helpful partner rather than, you know, a strict monitor.
Speaker 1:And what about the providers? What's the benefit on their end, according to the research, Well, it's huge for them too.
Speaker 2:These systems can flag when a patient might be struggling.
Speaker 1:Like an early warning system.
Speaker 2:Sort of yeah, Maybe they're reporting worrying symptoms through the tool or they've missed a few check-ins. It lets the care team know before it potentially becomes an emergency.
Speaker 1:So they can intervene proactively.
Speaker 2:Right, reach out, see what's going on, maybe adjust care, potentially avoiding that costly, stressful ER visit altogether.
Speaker 1:Okay, so this points to something really fundamental, doesn't it? Our sources seem to suggest that a lot of these utilization issues they're not just patients being non-compliant.
Speaker 2:No, that's a crucial insight.
Speaker 1:It's often about these gaps in support, practical support, guidance, just feeling connected when people have that readily available guidance and they feel like someone's actually you know there for them.
Speaker 2:They're better equipped, they can make more informed decisions about their own health. It empowers them.
Speaker 1:And how does this connect to the broader health care picture? Things like value-based care.
Speaker 2:Ah, good connection. Well, value-based care, where the focus is shifting towards outcomes and efficiency, not just volume.
Speaker 1:Right getting paid for keeping people healthy.
Speaker 2:essentially, Exactly so. Technologies like this, these continuous engagement models, if they can demonstrably help people stick to their care plans, reduce avoidable hospital visits.
Speaker 1:They become incredibly valuable tools in that new landscape.
Speaker 2:Indispensable? Potentially, yeah. They directly support the goals of better outcomes and managing costs.
Speaker 1:Okay. So pulling it all together, then, the key takeaway from our sources seems pretty clear. It's that by actively engaging patients between visits, providing that support, fostering connection, we can actually address the root causes of things like missed appointments and unnecessary ER trips.
Speaker 2:It's about making healthcare feel more continuous, more supportive, not just a series of isolated appointments. Building that bridge.
Speaker 1:Absolutely A more proactive, supportive experience overall.
Speaker 2:Which leaves us with a final thought, perhaps something for our listeners to consider. Go on, just think about how intentionally building these kinds of support bridges, extending care beyond those formal encounters, how that could really change the game for health and well-being for individuals and well for the whole system.
