Tag: Patient Care

4 Ways to Overcome Barriers to Chronic Disease Management

Posted on by VettersEnt

As a doctor and healthcare professional, one of the most frustrating situations you regularly encounter is probably non-compliant patients struggling to adhere to their chronic disease management plans. While it’s easy to assume patients simply don’t care, that’s almost never the case. Understanding the barriers to chronic disease management can help you to circumvent them.

The Barriers of Chronic Disease Management

Chronic disease is both prevalent and expensive in the United States. Approximately half of US adults have at least one chronic disease according to 2012 CDC data. That high volume of chronic illness made up over 85% of healthcare spending in 2010. That cost is driven partially by the 80+% of patients who drop out of chronic disease management programs, thereby putting themselves at increased risk of complications or worsening symptoms.

Barriers and How to Overcome Them

  1. Medication Cost: Medication adherence is typically at the heart of most chronic disease management plans, and patients who cannot take their medications regularly are unable to work towards a better state of health. With rising prescription costs, almost 25% of patients worry that they will be unable to afford medications in the future, and over 14% of patients have avoided filling a prescription solely due to cost. Work with your patients to determine if they are taking medication and if the cost could be prohibitive. Exploring budget-friendly options and coupons is a great way to increase engagement.
  2. Lack of Awareness of Resources: Many patients fail to realize the depth and breadth of resources available through your practice and the government. By educating yourself and your patients about all of the resources available and improving their health literacy, you can empower them to better adhere to their chronic disease management plan.
  3. Communication and Support: When patients don’t feel supported at home or by their healthcare provider, it’s a major barrier to chronic disease management. Emphasize preventative care and follow up regularly with patients coping with chronic illnesses. Include family members and friends in the education process as much as possible, and offer your patients resources to share with them.
  4. Mental Health Issues: Depression and anxiety can be additional burdens on top of existing chronic conditions. Acknowledge that many patient populations need mental health support and prioritize screening for depression and mental illness.  

Learn More About Serving Chronic Disease Patients with Vetters Enterprises

Vetters Enterprises specializes in practice management, private practice business support and revenue cycle optimization. We can perform in-depth assessments of your practice or facility and identify potential issues. Let us keep your business as healthy as you keep your patients! Give us a call at (443) 352-0088.

Social Determinants of Health with Vetters Enterprises

Is Addressing Social Determinants of Health Vital to Patient Success?

Posted on by VettersEnt

There’s a lot of buzz around the social determinants of health in the healthcare community, and for many good reasons. The social determinants of health have been found to be critical in promoting optimal patient health, limiting disease and improving healthcare quality. 

What Are the Social Determinants of Health?

Social determinants of health are nonmedical things that affect a patient’s health outcomes and overall health. They can include where a patient is born, where someone lives, what job they have, their age and a wide range of other factors that all shape their daily life and health. These social determinants have a serious effect. One analysis of studies measured adult deaths attributed to social factors and discovered that in 2000, over 245,000 deaths could be attributed to low education, 176,000 to racial segregation, 162,000 to low social support, 133,000 to individual-level poverty and 119,000 to income level equality. For comparison, the number of deaths that could be linked to low social support was nearly identical to the number of deaths from lung cancer.  

The Reality in the United States

Currently, the United States is ranked among the 10 richest countries in the world per capita. However, place of birth is more strongly correlated with life expectancy than genetics. There is no one way to improve these statistics without the work of policymakers, physicians, communities and individuals. Community health partnerships are one effective way to address social determinants of health and support your community.

Getting Involved

How can your workers better address needs like transportation or access to healthy food? One family practice in Columbus, OH partnered with the Mid-Ohio Food Bank to pilot a health initiative for patients with diabetes. While the practice thought almost no patients were living with food insecurity, a whopping 43% of patients surveyed had trouble finding healthy food to eat. The practice added a mini food bank inside and offered participating diabetes patients fresh produce (from the food bank), recipes, cutting boards, peelers and a brief nutrition class. In the first 4 months of the program for 40 patients, 12 patients had reduced A1C levels and the majority of patients indicated positive results. Even more promising? Physician satisfaction increased and burnout levels decreased. While this isn’t feasible for every practice, it’s great food for thought for yours.

Address the Social Determinants of Health with Vetters Enterprises

Vetters Enterprises specializes in practice management, private practice business support and revenue cycle optimization. We can perform in-depth assessments of your practice or facility and identify potential issues. Let us keep your business as healthy as you keep your patients! Give us a call at (443) 352-0088.

Entitlements and Insurance

Posted on by VettersEnt

Entitlements and insurance are two of the most common partial payment methods practices encounter on a daily basis. Each entitlement and insurance policy grants the holder different benefits, so it is critical to understand the differences between the two.

Entitlements 101

Entitlements guarantee access to a certain range of benefits by either established rights or by federal or state legislation. Entitlement benefit programs are not just restricted to healthcare, and include Social Security Disability Insurance, Social Security Retirement Income and Medicare. Some of the common entitlements you will encounter at your private practice include Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE and CHAMPVA. 

Every practice chooses to see patients with certain types of insurance or certain entitlements. Since each entitlement has different requirements, they each offer a certain amount of reimbursement to your practice. On average, Medicaid only pays 60% of what Medicare pays. Medicare already only pays a portion of the “retail” value of your services, so if your patient sees a large number of patients with entitlements, you will also need to see patients who pay in full to offset the cost.

Entitlements vs. Insurance

Unlike insurance, entitlements are either promised or needs-based. Medicare is a federally guaranteed health insurance offering for adults who are 65 years or older or disabled. Anyone receiving Social Security Disability Insurance payments will be able to use Medicare after 24 months of benefits. Medicaid, on the other hand, is needs-based. Medicaid is a state program that also receives federal funding. It is used to provide healthcare for low-income people.

Insurance, on the other hand, can be purchased by individuals through a variety of sources, whether it is their employer or the ACA exchange. Most private practices choose to accept at least one or two types of insurance, but not all of them choose to accept Medicare and Medicaid.

Reach Your Patients More Effectively with Help from Vetters Enterprises

Vetters Enterprises specializes in practice management, revenue cycle optimization, and private practice business support. We can perform detailed assessments of your practice or facility and identify potential issues. Let us keep your business as healthy as you keep your patients! Give us a call at (443) 352-0088.