Commonwealth Fund, John A. Hartford and Peterson Center on Healthcare Contribute to Health Care ‘Playbook’ of Best Practices
A new nationwide survey of patients with complex medical needs shows that the health care system is failing them, with these individuals having far more unmet behavioral health and social service challenges than other adults.
While nearly all of the high-need patients surveyed have consistent access to health care (95%), they nevertheless struggle to get the coordinated medical, behavioral, and social services they need to stay well and avoid costly hospital visits. Specifically, they had limited access to: care coordinators, assistance in managing functional limitations, emotional counseling, and transportation services.
The Commonwealth Fund survey of 3,009 adults (1,805 of whom are high-need) is being released as five national health care foundations—The John A. Hartford Foundation, the Peterson Center on Healthcare, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The SCAN Foundation, and The Commonwealth Fund—launch a new online resource to help health system leaders and insurers improve care for patients with complex medical and social needs...