A new program from CMS, the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), promises to shake up the industry in a fashion similar to the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program in 2012. In a recent video interview, Robin Roberts, Director of Health IT Regulatory Affairs at PointClickCare, describes how hospitals can implement the program through technology, better coordination with post-acute facilities, and changes to incentives.
TEAM, which will launch soon at almost 750 hospitals, provides an incentive for better post-surgical care by basing payments on the total costs of recovery, including what happens after the patient leaves the hospital. Roberts explains that this requires the skilled nursing facility or rehab center to share the same incentive as the hospital to minimize the cost of recovery, and most notably to avoid readmissions.
TEAM allows the hospital to share some of the benefits of cost reduction with the post-acute partner. But achieving the cost reductions requires close coordination and data sharing, particularly what Roberts calls “smarter discharge planning.”
Roberts says that the challenge is “real-time visibility” into the patient’s condition. “Where are you in your post-acute stay?” A PointClickCare tool called the Predictive Return to Hospital Model can be particularly useful in this regard. It uses AI and predictive analytics to determine the risks each patient faces. Its output should help post-acute facilities catch infections quickly and do other things to stave off the risk of readmission to the hospital.
Watch this interview with Robin Roberts from PointClickCare for more background on TEAM and the importance of data sharing between acute and post acute care.
Learn more about PointClickCare: https://pointclickcare.com/
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