According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 in 10 American adults have one chronic disease, such as heart, lung, or kidney disease; cancer; Alzheimer's disease; and diabetes, and 4 in 10 have two or more. These patients see more physicians across care settings, experience more transitions of care, and suffer more adverse events than those without chronic conditions.
Care transitions and coordination can be a vulnerable time for patients, and many find themselves relying on patient navigators or advocates to help them manage their care.
According to a 2020 survey published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, nearly 40% of respondents reported at least one gap in care coordination and nearly 10% reported at least one preventable outcome such as repeat tests, medication interactions, and emergency department visits.
In response to this concerning trend, ECRI addressed the consequences of poor care coordination for patients with complex medical conditions in its Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2023.
Given that more than 883 million office-based physician visits occur annually in the United States, compared with about 36.5 million hospitalizations, care coordination challenges in the ambulatory care environment may surpass those encountered in acute care. Therefore, in addition to ensuring accurate medication reconciliation, primary care leaders and providers can implement the following strategies to help alleviate some of these challenges.
Leaders can prioritize care coordination improvement initiatives by:
Primary care providers and staff can prioritize care coordination improvement initiatives by:
Want to learn more about this issue and other top concerns? View ECRI's Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2023 or reach out to an ECRI expert for further assistance.