December 7, 2020
By Kera Evans, Dixie Primary Care, St. George, Utah
I’m a Care Manager from Dixie Primary Care in Utah. I am responsible for contacting patients on a regular basis to monitor their care outside our practice. Our calls establish a reliable point of contact for patients with the greatest care demands. This allows us to stay on top of their health. Care Management shows our patients they have someone fighting in their corner, providing the support to make difficult lifestyle changes needed to turn their health around.
High-risk patients, often those with multiple chronic conditions, benefit most from Care Chronic Management (CCM) Program. Reflecting on the success of CCM, one patient comes to mind. This patient had chronic pain, COPD, A-Fib, Depression, Heart Failure, Hyperlipidemia, Hypertension, and Prostate CA, relied on a walker and cane for mobility, endured a number of breathing complications, weighed 265 pounds, and followed a pain medication schedule, when he began CCM in June 2017.
When first enrolled in the program, this patient was not ready to engage with me. After undergoing a knee replacement surgery, he recognized the importance of my team’s support in his recovery, and over time, my calls with him grew increasingly positive. I could begin to hear him smiling. Since his surgery, he is mostly pain free, only taking an occasional pain reliever as needed. Best of all, he is now walking freely, without dependence on a walker or cane.
The patient underwent an additional procedure on his nose that improved his O2 stats. He is able to breathe better and participate in more activities. In fact, he has started exercising and losing weight, thanks to both procedures and our partnership during his recovery. He joined a gym and works out with his wife three times a week. Now, he weighs 255 pounds!
After persistent follow up and unwavering support, this patient is engaged in his health. I am confident CCM and his increased participation in the program benefited him. When this patient and I began working together, we created a plan with the goal of exercising and losing weight. He is accomplishing his goals! Calling him a couple times a month, checking up on him, and providing accountability has catalyzed this process. This patient relishes the fact that he has completed his goals. I would even say he is overall less depressed as he now looks to the future.
If our practice wasn’t a part of an Aledade ACO, he would not have received this level of lasting, proactive support from someone on his team. Once he no longer needed follow-up appointments, he would have been off his doctors’ radars. But, because the patient had a CCM, he had support in reaching long-term goals, attaining holistic wellbeing, and addressing concerns that arose outside of the doctor’s office.
The support that Aledade has provided has given me tools that I can pass along to my patients. Helping a patient achieve their goals and take monumental steps towards wellness does not happen everyday and in every practice, which makes this story- a true success story- all the more exciting!