Primary Care Strategies May Promote the Health of Chronic Disease Patients: Study

New study highlights the primary care strategies that may improve the health of chronic disease patients. The findings of the study are published in the journal Healthcare.

Improving primary care for chronic illness patients is critical to improving health care quality, value and patient experience. Primary care providers are participating in several new payment models that emphasize quality and value.

World Mental Health Day 2009 - "Mental Health in Primary Care"
World Mental Health Day which falls on October 10, 2009, was created to educate and spread vital information about mental health and forms of illnesses.

‘Improving the quality of health care can help promote the health of patients with chronic disease.’

Tweet it Now

However, little is known about whether and how participation in these programs affects care delivery, specifically for patients with chronic needs.

Dori Cross, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, worked with a team of researchers to conduct in-depth interviews with 14 primary care practices participating in value-based payment models.

Of those interviewed, half of the practices had improved patient outcomes over time for their chronic disease patients (based on administrative claims data), and half did not.

Primary Care is an Untapped Resource for Depression Screening: Study
A new study has identified at-risk populations for whom depression screening combined with hazardous alcohol use screening could detect depressive symptoms that might otherwise go untreated.

Researchers identified several strategies that differentiated practices with improved performance for chronic disease patients. Practices had to balance immediate care delivery needs while also creating new adaptive structures and processes to better respond to changing pressures and demands.

Key strategies generated long-term value to practices by strengthening:

Social Determinants of Health Linked to Quality of Primary Care
Social challenges were associated with the quality of care patients received in primary care settings, according to a study.

access and receptivity to new ideas for care delivery through external learning opportunities;
efforts to foster intrinsic motivation among providers and staff;
pursuit of new staffing and workflow models that integrated care management while delegating administrative requirements to external supporting organizations.

"Practices are serving an increasingly complex population while simultaneously complying with numerous new service and documentation requirements under value-based program models," said Cross. "Those successful at improving outcomes for chronic disease patients under these models did so by pursuing a culture of change, with strategies that emphasized adaptiveness and creative use of resources."

These findings help inform payers and primary care practices seeking evidence-based strategies to foster a stronger delivery system for patients with significant health care needs.

Good Primary Care Lowers ED Use for Those With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Study
One in three adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) visit the emergency department annually but effective primary care could reduce these numbers.

Source-Eurekalert