Ep 13: The Long-Term Benefits of Short-Stay Care Management

At Viviant Healthcare of Murfreesboro, located in rural TN, 25% of residents are short stay. When they leave, Lisa Lugo, Director of Social Services, worries. Lacking transportation makes it hard for many to fill prescriptions. Some in need of pain medications can’t get an appointment with a pain clinic for days. Others return home and don’t follow up with their healthcare providers.

Without support, residents may experience health mishaps that land them back in the hospital. To avoid these complications, Lugo opted to take part in a pilot program for Continue Care, a suite of services from PharMerica designed to help keep patients healthy at home. It worked: the rehospitalization rate for Viviant during the pilot was 10%, a significant improvement over the average rate among SNFs of 23%-31%.

And residents weren’t the only ones who benefitted. By eliminating manual processes and calls or faxes to the pharmacy to get prescriptions filled, Continue Care saves a lot of staff time and frustration and frees caregivers up to spend more time with residents. Plus, with a three on/three off schedule, there’s no risk of orders falling through the cracks between shifts.

Hear firsthand from Lugo when she joins hosts John O’Connor and TJ Griffin along with PharMerica’s Bill Deane, whose team operationalized the program, to discuss her facility’s previous processes that prompted her to adopt Continue Care and the positive impacts it has had on outcomes and her team alike.

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