Have you decided that it is time to introduce a Chronic Care Management program in your healthcare practice? If so, you are in the right place.
When a healthcare provider offers Chronic Care Management services, they not only offer their patients a strong support network and a more convenient way to manage their conditions, but they can also open up a new revenue stream. Chronic Care Management is intended to improve a patient’s quality of life, but for providers with no such scheme in place, it can be difficult to know where to begin. This simple guide outlines how healthcare providers should go about implementing a Chronic Care Management (CCM) program.
Identify the patients who would benefit
It is likely that there are many patients at your practice who are struggling with at least one chronic medical condition, and they may be seeing other medical professionals for other conditions. Your first task is to identify which patients would benefit from a chronic care management program, before then drawing their attention to the service. If you choose to use the services of a CCM company, they may assist in the identification and recruitment of eligible patients.
Explain the program to your patients
Once you have established a CCM program, it is time to educate the patients it is for about its potential benefits. Patients with chronic conditions are increasingly more aware of CCM as a service, but not all of them understand exactly what it can bring to their lives. Take the time to provide your patients with educational materials, both in hard copy and online, and be sure to bring up the program during appointments. Invite people to ask questions about the scheme to deepen their understanding, as patients who understand the benefits are more likely to take part.
Choose a CCM partner company
The best way to implement a CCM program is to partner with a well-established CCM Medicare company. Introducing a new service in your practice could drain your resources, especially if you are setting it up and recruiting and educating patients on its benefits. This can lead to a poorly constructed program and/or a drop in the quality of care elsewhere. An experienced CCM partner, however, will be able to take on much of the administration and hassle of setting up the program and help you to run it on an ongoing basis. A CCM partner will reduce the administrative burden and free up your staff to focus on patient care. The more streamlined your program is, the greater the likelihood that it will be a success for your patients and your profitability.
Keep reviewing your service
Once your CCM system is up and running, you need to keep adapting and improving. It may not be perfect right from day one, so it is important to continue to ask for feedback from patients and to act on that feedback where appropriate. Only by communicating with the people that the scheme is supposed to help will you know if it is fit for purpose. You can then use any negative feedback or observations to improve.
