Video: Strategies for Better Coordinating Care Transitions

January 17, 2012

As health care stakeholders debate ways to bend the cost curve while improving quality and reducing readmissions, care coordination during periods of transitions should be kept top of mind. It is at these times, when the patient is moved from one point of care to another or from hospital to home, that the care plan may fall through and the patient may end up back in the physician's office. Effective care transitions are particularly important in high-acuity units (such as emergency rooms) that tend to have high costs.

Ignite recently spoke with Mark Crockett, MD, Simon Stevens and Palmer Evans to discuss ways that hospitals--particularly emergency rooms--can better coordinate care to reduce readmissions and curb costs.

To learn more about the challenges faced by emergency departments, download "Physician's Guide to Achieving Excellence in the ED," a white paper sponsored by Picis. The paper includes ideas from three leading emergency department physicians regarding the changing landscape of emergency care and ways to address those challenges (including selecting and implementing automation).