January 19, 2021 | 1:30 EST | 1 Hour
A RISE Association Webinar in Partnership with Fox Rehabilitation
Healthcare costs are rising at a rate of 2.9% annually (Dieleman et al, 2020). Costs are concentrated in those with back and neck pain, other musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes, falls, heart disease, arthritis, dementia, hypertension, and older Americans in general. Older adults with limited access to healthcare and poor social determinants of health are among the most vulnerable and costly to the healthcare system. Experts in population dynamics have described a Silver Tsunami that will further compound our current rise in healthcare costs without even considering COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing will result in significant physical, functional, cognitive, and expressive decline in older adults. It will also result in more downstream hospitalizations and cost. Active older adults are 57% less likely to visit the Emergency Room (ER) and 86% less likely to be hospitalized (Daher et al, 2018). Rising healthcare costs are a multifactorial problem but a low cost, high impact group of providers within an innovative care delivery model has been proven to significantly reduce downstream costs in the older adult population and is feasible within a COVID-19 environment.
Geriatric House Calls, provided by highly trained physical, occupational, and speech therapists, enhance access and treat the physical, functional, cognitive, and expressive decline associated with many chronic diseases, sedentary behavior, and lack of social interaction that is more prevalent due to COVID-19. The ideal approach is proactive investment in the downstream heath and costs associated with these older adults. This webinar will describe an innovative model of care delivery that saves 9.5% (Optum Advisory Services) in total downstream costs for older adults, improves patient satisfaction, and increases the likelihood of increasing health plan membership.
The topics at a glance that will be discussed are:
This webinar is designed to specifically benefit those with responsibilities in the following areas: