An Integrated Mobile Acute Care Service Enhances Value

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Value-Based Care Models
• Acute Care Delivery

Background:

• Value-based care necessitates reducing healthcare costs while improving quality and patient experience.
• Emergency departments (EDs) and hospitals are high-cost settings, prompting a need for alternative care models.
• Mobile, on-demand care for high-acuity conditions in homes offers a potential solution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance and value of a novel mobile acute care service.
• To assess the impact of in-home care on ED utilization and hospital admissions.
• To determine patient satisfaction with mobile acute care for high-acuity conditions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective quality improvement evaluation of the first year of a mobile acute care program.
• Analysis of operational, clinical, and financial metrics for 3436 patient encounters.
• Prioritization of patients within accountable care organizations and value-based payment models.

Main Results:

• Mobile acute care achieved a 71% utilization rate, with 44% of visits involving patients in value-based models.
• An estimated 63.8% of mobile visits avoided the ED, 21.6% avoided emergency transport, and 14.1% avoided hospital stays.
• Consistently high patient satisfaction scores were observed throughout the study period.

Conclusions:

• In-home mobile care for high-acuity illness is effective in preventing unnecessary ED and hospital use.
• This model demonstrates a useful component for enhancing value-based care strategies.
• The service is associated with high patient satisfaction and improved operational and clinical performance.