Delivering the Most Effective Health Navigation
Integrated care, also known as integrated health, coordinated care, comprehensive or seamless care is a worldwide trend in healthcare reforms and new organizational arrangements. Integrated care may be seen as a response to the fragmented delivery of healthcare services in many health systems.
The World Health Organization offers the following definition: “Integrated Care is a concept bringing together inputs, delivery, management and organization of services related to diagnosis, treatment, care, rehabilitation and health promotion. Integration is a means to improve the services in relation to access, quality, user satisfaction and efficiency.”
The positive outcomes of integrated care—improved access to care, quality, satisfaction, and efficiency—are what we at Medcor consider to be the aim of health navigation. So, how can companies concretely achieve integrated care that will deliver the most efficacious health navigation for their employee populations?
Health Navigation
Health navigation’s main aim is getting people the level of care they need, at the right time, and in the right place, which in turn removes burdensome guesswork from the healthcare process, reduces the number of unnecessary claims, and improves patient satisfaction. The starting point for health navigation is access, a point of entry to care that is convenient and always available. From there, successful health navigation depends on staff and the systems and software that undergird the health services they deliver. The grouping of these elements—access and services, staff, systems, and software—into one program is integrated care.
Strategic Access to Health Services
Companies who want to implement integrated care will consider how to provide the greatest access to care for their employees; this means integrating health services. When worksite health services, such as onsite clinics, telephonic triage, and telemedicine are strategically combined, they work together to facilitate access to care.
For example, a company with an onsite clinic that is open during the day shift can complement clinic operations 24/7 with Medcor Injury Triage and Telemed, making the point of entry to care convenient and always available, ultimately reducing time away from work. This integrative approach enhances a company’s employer value proposition for off-shift and remote workers.
Staff, Systems, and Software
Once the problem of access is resolved, staff, systems, and software work together to evaluate each case and to determine the best course of action for treatment. Medcor’s staff deliver health services powered by systems rooted in evidence-based medicine. Our proprietary care protocols, algorithms, and patented assessment methods use evidence-based medicine to help prevent unnecessary treatments and prescriptions while obtaining needed treatments right away. Thus, Medcor identifies the appropriate level of care for the cases that present themselves: staff guide patients in first aid selfcare, or provide treatment for health concerns, or refer more serious cases to client in-network providers.
Results
Integrating Medcor’s services enhances the health navigation process, enabling people to get through the healthcare system more efficiently to achieve better clinical outcomes and lower costs. That’s good for employees, and it’s also good for their employers, who shoulder much of the cost of caring for employees and their families. Integrated care, which is the product of integrating health services, has a demonstrated ability to impact claim costs and generate an ROI: Medcor’s 24/7 nationwide availability and convenient access to care provides early intervention, getting health incidents on the right track, right away; our clinics, injury triage, and telemedicine help resolve the majority of health concerns onsite; and because we refer to in-network providers, employers see greater in-network utilization for cases that really need to be there.
Explore Medcor’s services to see how they can best benefit you.
