Dr. Hari Balasubramanian: Time And Effort In Coordinating Care For Patients with Complex Medical and Social Needs: Lessons from a Community-based Intervention

Healthcare spending in the United States is disproportionately skewed -- just 5% of the population accounts for one-half of annual spending, while 1% accounts for almost a quarter of annual spending. Many patients among these highest cost segments have multiple chronic conditions as well as unmet social needs. Complex care interventions are one strategy for addressing the challenges facing such patients and are often led by a multidisciplinary team consisting of nurses, community health workers and social workers. Care teams strive to improve the health and wellbeing of such patients by visiting them on a regular basis, reconciling medications, arranging primary and specialty care visits, and addressing social needs such as housing instability, rehabilitation from substance abuse and unemployment.

While complex care interventions have been adopted by a range of organizations, including payers, primary care providers, and hospitals, operational and staffing questions that are vital to successful interventions have not been well investigated. In this talk, Dr. Hari Balasubramanian, Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at UMass Amherst, will discuss his ongoing collaboration with the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, a New Jersey based organization with significant experience, rich data and national renown in the field of complex care. The talk will discuss the structure of the interventions, results of a randomized control trial conducted by the Coalition, and a quantification of the effort needed by a multidisciplinary care team to assist patients.