ChenMed Included in New National Report on Effective Care for High-Need Patients

ChenMed is a prime example of how to provide effective care to high-need patients, according to a new report from the National Academy of Medicine.  The report – a collaborative assessment by the National Academy of Medicine Leadership Consortium, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Bipartisan Policy Center, The Commonwealth Fund, and the Peterson Center on Health Care – explored care models across the country to identify best practices for improving outcomes and reducing the costs of health care for patients in vulnerable populations.

The report notes that five percent of U.S. patients account for nearly half of the nation’s health care spending.  It also identifies older patients as a group with care needs that extend beyond physical ailments.  For example, seniors and other high-need patients benefit when health care providers offer social and behavioral services that contribute to their overall well-being.  Through effective, comprehensive health care to high-need patients, providers can significantly improve health outcomes while reducing health care costs.

ChenMed is proud to be helping seniors in six states thrive with the “one-stop-shop” quality care described in the National Academy of Medicine report.  At ChenMed, we effectively serve many at-risk seniors who are managing major and multiple chronic conditions.  Our revolutionary model of care engenders the trust in primary care physicians needed to get patients healthy and keep them that way.  At the heart of our success is industry-leading access to PCPs and specialist doctors passionate about disease prevention and value-based care.

The impact of outstanding access to physicians (including daily walk-in appointments when needed), was noted in the report.  ChenMed physicians have manageable patient panel sizes – about 450 patients per physician compared to the national average of 2,300 patients per physician.  Plus, ChenMed provides a high-touch, customer service approach to medicine.  

With patient panels just one-fifth the national average, ChenMed PCPs are able to invest significantly more time face-to-face with patients to build the trust needed to optimize care.  The company’s proprietary and customized electronic health records system (EHR) streamlines documentation, further empowering physicians to focus more on patient care.  The new National Academy of Medicine report cites health and patient satisfaction benefits from the ChenMed approach, including:  “90 percent of ChenMed’s diabetic patients reported they had an improved understanding of their medications and 80 percent reported improved communication with their physician.”

By offering patients PCP-coordinated care with a broad range of services – from on-site specialists, to on-site labs, x-ray and medication dispensing – the integrated medical practice enjoys substantial organic growth from ChenMed patients referring in friends, relatives and acquaintances as new patients. And, critically, because our services lead to healthier patients, ChenMed’s up-front investments ultimately reduce health care costs.  For these reasons, ChenMed was identified by the National Academy of Medicine as an effective model for high-need patients.

Since 2013, ChenMed has grown by more than 420 percent.  The patient-focused practice, which operates more than 40 centers in 10 markets, continues to find innovative ways to provide high-quality care to high-need patients across the country.