Automation tools for population health management will become more important than ever in 2012 as a growing number of healthcare providers begin to take responsibility for the cost and quality of care. Some organizations will further integrate their information systems and automate their care-coordination processes to prepare for the assumption of financial risk. And more and more providers will focus on the patient-centered medical home (PCMH), which can produce short-term financial and clinical benefits while paving the way for the formation of accountable care organizations (ACOs).
Patient-Centered Medical Home Improves Care Coordination
The PCMH is already generating tremendous enthusiasm among providers and payers. In 2012, it will join the mainstream of healthcare delivery as organizations recognize that it is the best vehicle for attaining the objectives of accountable care.
Without the ability to leverage digitized clinical data, it is impossible to achieve the medical home’s primary goal of improving care coordination in a scalable way. Fortunately, the federal government’s HITECH incentive program is driving the rapidly increasing adoption and meaningful use of EHRs. As structured electronic data becomes the norm, many more providers will be able to tap clinical databases for real-time identification of care gaps, automated outreach to patients who need preventive and chronic care, care coordination, predictive modeling and risk stratification of the population. These tools will help providers build successful medical homes and ACOs.
Automation Technology Supports Patient Engagement
Meanwhile, efforts to promote patients’ engagement in their own care will benefit from the accelerating use of automation technology to replace outmoded, inefficient manual processes. In addition to automated patient outreach methods, online educational tools and health-risk assessments will become commonplace. Mobile health applications will proliferate. Most important, physicians and care teams will have the tools they need to maintain continuous contact with patients between office visits or episodes of care.
Population Health Management and Automation
Finally, care management will benefit from the new automation approaches. Healthcare systems are placing care coordinators within physician practices, and those professionals are beginning to leverage digitized health data to help them manage patient populations. We will see much more of this kind of activity in 2012.
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