Guideway Care Helps OCM Participants Exceed Navigation Requirements With a Superior Patient Experience

Guideway Care is presenting at a regional Oncology Care Model (OCM) and Healthcare Reform Summit Meeting on July 12, 2017 at UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Wallace Tumor Institute building. The purpose of this event is to better prepare participants for OCM, MACRA, OPPS, and the value-based care delivery programs of the future. The introduction of CMS’ Oncology Care Model is recognition of the importance of programs such as Guideway Care.  The OCM aims to provide higher-quality, more highly coordinated oncology care at the same or lower cost.  Guideway Care will discuss its Cancer Care Guidance program that goes beyond mere patient navigation to exceed the requirements of OCM while improving patient satisfaction and reducing unnecessary utilization.   At UAB, the program produced a 55 percent reduction in hospitalizations, 29 percent reduction in ER visits, 60 percent reduction in ICU admissions, and 45 percent reduction in overall cost. In a recent article published in the March 2017 issue of Health Affairs titled “Innovative Oncology Care Models Improve End-of-Life Quality, Reduce Utilization and Spending,” researchers from NORC and CMS stated, “Under this model, participating practices are required to redesign themselves to include several aspects of [the Guideway Care, formally Patient Care Connect] program.” Programs such as Guideway Care’s Cancer Care Guidance Program are essential in the transition from fee-for-service payment models.  Guideway Care makes it easy for health care systems to expand patient care outside the walls of the clinic while allowing the clinical team to stay focused on their goal of healing. About Guideway Care Guideway Care’s specialized Cancer Care Guides supported by advanced Cancer Care GPS technology and proven protocols (developed by the UAB Health System Cancer Community Network) deliver personalized attention in a confidential, respectful, compassionate and quality-driven manner that cancer patients so often need but cannot or do not receive.  Unlike traditional disease navigation, we expand critical communications, interactions and guidance for patients to cover the gaps between clinical interactions. Health systems add seamless and more comprehensive patient interaction, filling gaps in communication, understanding, scheduling, outreach, education and knowledge exchange than would otherwise typically happen for patients and providers. The continuous guided dialogue from the Guideway Care platform produces substantially lower costs, improved satisfaction, lower stress, higher quality, and a superior total experience for the patients and their families, as well as the associated care teams.