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CareJourney and Altarum have partnered in developing a breakthrough approach in measuring care for patients with physical and cognitive disabilities, focusing on adults aged 65 and older. In our analysis of 2018 medicare FFS claims data, we identified 6.7 million traditional Medicare patients who required long-term services and supports (LTSS) and had assessments that document these conditions. Altarum developed an outcome measurement tool to visualize data at a county level with CareJourney, providing the underlying analyses that enabled exploring the value improvement opportunities among these patients. What Does the Data Reveal? In a time of rising populations entering old age, serving Medicare patients will require greater attention to the self-care disability and cognitive impairments that often come with elderhood. Without self-care support and care coordination, the growing segment of patients who need them will more likely face calamitous but preventable events, like falling and rehospitalizations, which contribute to high medical costs. Improving in-home support often avoids costly and harmful events in key patient groups. CareJourney’s outcome measurement tool can provide its members the same data at different levels of analysis, such as aggregating patients according to their health care providers. We found these data to reveal rewarding opportunities to serve elder adults. |
