Face-to-face management keeps employees healthy
Chronically ill get help understanding treatment plan
Faced with skyrocketing costs for employees' health care, Moses Cone Health System asked Med-Link to provide community case management for employees and dependents covered by the Moses Cone self-insured health plan.
"The employees typically have more acute needs than the geriatric population. These people have problems in specific areas and have a relatively short length of stay in our program," says Elizabeth Westwater, MedLink community care manager director for the Greensboro, NC-based health system.
The typical Moses Cone employee in the program has a chronic illness. They may not be taking their medication properly or don't understand how to take it.
Some have experienced a catastrophic illness or medical event, such as cancer or an automobile accident, and need help understanding their treatment plan and choosing options for care.
Many of the people in the program for employees have financial issues. Some are former employees who are continuing their insurance through COBRA.
"Their health plan may have expensive co-pays for certain medications or specialist visits or they are on multiple medications. For some of our employees, a $40 copay is a financial hardship. The case managers work with the patients and their doctors to relieve some of the financial burden," Westwater says.
In some situations, employees may qualify for Medicaid or other assistance programs. The case managers help them apply and may refer them to other community resources for everyday needs such as food or utility or rent assistance.
When employees have a history of using urgent care for primary care needs, the case managers help them get set up with a primary care physician.
Med-Link facilitates classes to improve the self-management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. This year, a healthy pregnancy program was added.
Depending on the situation, the case manager has employees come to the office regularly to have their vital signs monitored and work on complying with their treatment plans.
In some cases, the case managers go to the job site to work with the individual or, if needed, see the patients in their homes.
Faced with skyrocketing costs for employees' health care, Moses Cone Health System asked Med-Link to provide community case management for employees and dependents covered by the Moses Cone self-insured health plan.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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