Levering the Trusted Clinician: Documenting Disease Management Program Enrollment
Publication: Disease Management 2007; 10:16-29.
Authors: Sharon Glave Frazee PhD, Patricia Kirkpatrick RN BS CPHQ, Raymond Fabius MD, Joseph Chimera PhD
Objective:
The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that an integrated disease management (IDM) protocol (patent-pending) which combines telephonic-delivered disease management (TDM) with work-site based primary care center and pharmacy delivery would yield higher contact and enrollment rates than traditional remote disease management alone. IDM is characterized by the combination of standard telephonic-delivered disease management (TDM) with a work-site based primary care and pharmacy delivery protocol led by "trusted clinicians". Methods: This prospective cohort study tracks contact and enrollment rates for persons assigned to either IDM or traditional TDM protocols and compares them on both contact and enrollment efficiency. Results: The IDM protocol showed a significant improvement in contact and enrollment rates over traditional TDM. Conclusions: Integrating a worksite based primary care and pharmacy delivery system led by "trusted clinicians" with traditional telephonic-based disease management increases contact and enrollment rates resulting in higher patient engagement. The IDM protocol should be adopted by employers seeking higher returns on their investment into disease management programming.
Commentary:
The promise of population health management programs resides chiefly in its ability to engage worthy participants in a sustained way to allow for its positive impacts. Traditional telephonic approaches are inadequate: With each passing day people are relying on cell phones instead of land lines and utilizing caller ID and call waiting to screen the calls they answer. Unrecognizable numbers from disease management and wellness organizations performing outreach are not answered. Perhaps more remarkable the phone numbers delivered by health plans and employers are often outdated. For these reasons engaging 25% or less of the worthy population using telephonic techniques is benchmark. Utilizing the trusted bond established between clinicians and their patients can yield much higher engagement rates. This research encourages all efforts in population health to incorporate existing practitioners within their protocols. By doing so, you will engage more of the worthy population in your program and produce better returns for the dollars invested by your customers.