Employing Integrated Care to Prevent Gaps Among Patients With Advanced Illness

Joseph Shega, MD, senior vice president and medical director for VITAS Healthcare, will discuss how successful integrated care partnerships in palliative care can mitigate risk and improve the value of care among patients with advanced illness.

Dr Shega will be joined by Jeffrey T. King, RN, MBA, is vice president of healthcare services for Molina Healthcare of Florida, and Shellie Williams, M.D., is director of geriatric medicine and palliative medicine education at Pritzker School of Medicine.

The panel, which takes place on Thursday, June 8 at 7:45am (central time), will focus on how outcome-aligned partnerships can use integrated care to address issues with palliative care.

Dr Shega will outline the need to recognize gaps within care among patients with advanced illness. His presentation notes that gaps in care commonly exist among this patient population, often resulting in a substandard level of care that is not aligned with the patient’s wishes or values. He noted that these gaps in care often occur during transitions in care.

According to Dr Shega and colleagues, payers can benefit from effectively facilitating acute and post-acute patient-centered partnerships that employ integrated care to identify and treat patients with advanced illness who are no longer responding to curative treatments.

“The collaborative efforts of hospice providers, clinicians and insurance organizations creates a specialized care process that not only reduces healthcare costs, but provides patients with the highest quality of care,” David Wester, president and chief financial officer of VISTAS Healthcare, said in a press release announcing the session at AHIP. “We look forward to sharing our insights and hearing from others in the industry about successful partnerships that are caring for patients with complex conditions.”

The panel will offer the perspective of experts from different areas of the health care system who have experience with integrated care among patients with advanced illness. Attendees will get insight into how to develop successful partnerships with palliative care groups, improve the quality of care, and reduce risk among this complex patient population.

—David Costill