Dataset Information

Staff Perspectives on Primary Care Teams as De Facto "Hubs" for Care Coordination in VA: a Qualitative Study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Improving care coordination is a key priority for many healthcare systems. However, initiatives to improve care coordination are complex to implement and have produced mixed results. A better understanding of how to craft and support implementation of effective care coordination strategies is needed. OBJECTIVE:To identify and understand the challenges and factors encountered by Patient-Aligned Care Team (PACT) staff in performing care coordination tasks in outpatient clinics in the Veterans Health Administration (VA). DESIGN:Qualitative study using semi-structured formative evaluation interviews. PARTICIPANTS:Fourteen interviews with 18 clinical frontline managers and staff from 12 clinic sites across five VA health systems. INTERVENTIONS:This paper reports on baseline data collected for the Coordination Toolkit and Coaching (CTAC) project. CTAC aims to improve patients' experience of care coordination within VA primary care and between PACT and other outpatient and community settings. APPROACH:We conducted pre-implementation telephone interviews with frontline managers and staff, primarily nurse managers. KEY RESULTS:PACT staff described challenges in aligning care coordination priorities across different levels of the VA system, including staff, patients, and leadership. Additionally, PACT staff noted challenges coordinating care both within and outside the VA, and identified resource barriers impeding their care coordination efforts. To address these challenges, staff made several recommendations for improvement, including (1) contingency staffing to address staff burnout; (2) additional PACT training for new staff; (3) clarification of care coordination roles and responsibilities; and (4) and care coordination initiatives that align both with centrally initiated care coordination programs and frontline needs. CONCLUSION:In the VA and similarly complex healthcare systems, our findings suggest the need for care coordination strategies that are buttressed by a system-level vision for care coordination, backed up by clear roles and responsibilities for information exchange between primary care staff and other settings, and multidimensional accountability metrics that encompass patient-, staff-, and system-level goals.

SUBMITTER: Olmos-Ochoa TT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6542903 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Staff Perspectives on Primary Care Teams as De Facto "Hubs" for Care Coordination in VA: a Qualitative Study.

Olmos-Ochoa Tanya T TT Bharath Purnima P Ganz David A DA Noël Polly H PH Chawla Neetu N Barnard Jenny M JM Rose Danielle E DE Stockdale Susan E SE Simon Alissa A Finley Erin P EP

Journal of general internal medicine 20190501 Suppl 1

<h4>Background</h4>Improving care coordination is a key priority for many healthcare systems. However, initiatives to improve care coordination are complex to implement and have produced mixed results. A better understanding of how to craft and support implementation of effective care coordination strategies is needed.<h4>Objective</h4>To identify and understand the challenges and factors encountered by Patient-Aligned Care Team (PACT) staff in performing care coordination tasks in outpatient cl ...[more]

PMID: 31011971

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectivesEvaluate the implementation of Hubs providing access to psychological support for health and social care keyworkers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignQualitative interviews informed by normalisation process theory to understand how the Hub model became embedded into normal practice, and factors that disrupted normalisation of this approach.SettingThree Resilience Hubs in the North of England.ParticipantsHub staff, keyworkers who accessed Hub support (Hub clients), keyworkers who had not accessed a Hub, and wider stakeholders involved in the provision of staff support within the health and care system (N=63).ResultsHubs were generally seen as an effective way of supporting keyworkers, and Hub clients typically described very positive experiences. Flexibility and adaptability to local needs were strongly valued. Keyworkers accessed support when they understood the offer, valuing a confidential service that was separate from their organisation. Confusion about how Hubs differed from other support prevented some from enrolling. Beliefs about job roles, unsupportive managers, negative workplace cultures and systemic issues prevented keyworkers from valuing mental health support. Lack of support from managers discouraged keyworker engagement with Hubs. Black, Asian and minority ethnic keyworkers impacted by racism felt that the Hubs did not always meet their needs.ConclusionsHubs were seen as a valuable, responsive and distinct part of the health and care system. Findings highlight the importance of improving promotion and accessibility of Hubs, and continuation of confidential Hub support. Policy implications for the wider health and care sector include the central importance of genuine promotion of and value placed on mental health support by health and social care management, and the creation of psychologically safe work environments. Diversity and cultural competency training is needed to better reach under-represented communities. Findings are consistent with the international literature, therefore, likely to have applicability outside of the current context.

Project description:BackgroundCare coordination has been a common tool for practices seeking to manage complex patients, yet there remains confusion about the most effective and sustainable model. Research exists on opinions of providers of care coordination but there is limited information on perspectives of those in the insurance industry about key elements. We sought to gather opinions from primary care providers and administrators in Minnesota who were involved in a CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) transformational grant implementing COMPASS (Care Of Mental, Physical And Substance-use Syndromes), an evidence-based model of care coordination for depressed patients comorbid with diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. We then sought to compare these views with those of private insurance representatives in Minnesota.MethodsWe used qualitative methods to conducted forty-two key informant interviews with primary care providers (n = 15); administrators (n = 15); and insurers (n = 12). We analyzed the recorded and transcribed data, once de-identified, using a frameworks analysis approach.ResultsWe identified six primary themes: 1) a defined scope, rationale, and key partnerships for building comprehensive care coordination programs, 2) effective information exchange, 3) a trained and available workforce, 4) the need for a business model and a financially justifiable program, 5) a need for evaluation and ongoing improvement of care coordination, and 6) the importance of patient and family engagement. Overall consensus across stakeholder groups was high including a call for payment reform to support a valued service. Despite their role in paying for care, insurance representatives did not stress reduced utilization as more important than other outcomes.ConclusionsPrimary care providers and administrators from different organizations and backgrounds, all with experience in COMPASS, in large part agreed with insurance representatives on the main elements of a sustainable model and the need for health reform to sustain this service.

Project description:AbstractU.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) patients' multi-system use can create challenges for VA clinicians who are responsible for coordinating Veterans' use of non-VA care, including VA-purchased care ("Community Care") and Medicare.To examine the relationship between drive distance and time-key eligibility criteria for Community Care-and VA reliance (proportion of care received in VA versus Medicare and Community Care) among Veterans at high risk for hospitalization. We used prepolicy data to anticipate the impact of the 2014 Choice Act and 2018 Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act (MISSION Act), which expanded access to Community Care.Cross-sectional analysis using fractional logistic regressions to examine the relationship between a Veteran's reliance on VA for outpatient primary, mental health, and other specialty care and their drive distance/time to a VA facility.Thirteen thousand seven hundred three Veterans over the age of 65 years enrolled in VA and fee-for-service Medicare in federal fiscal year 2014 who were in the top 10th percentile for hospitalization risk.Key explanatory variables were patients' drive distance to VA > 40 miles (Choice Act criteria) and drive time to VA ≥ 30 minutes for primary and mental health care and ≥60 minutes for specialty care (MISSION Act criteria).Veterans at high risk for hospitalization with drive distance eligibility had increased odds of an outpatient specialty care visit taking place in VA when compared to Veterans who did not meet Choice Act eligibility criteria (odds ratio = 1.10, 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.15). However, drive time eligibility (MISSION Act criteria) was associated with significantly lower odds of an outpatient specialty care visit taking place in VA (odds ratio = 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.67, 0.71). Neither drive distance nor drive time were associated with reliance for outpatient primary care or mental health care.VA patients who are at high risk for hospitalization may continue to rely on VA for outpatient primary care and mental health care despite access to outside services, but may increase use of outpatient specialty care in the community in the MISSION era, increasing demand for multi-system care coordination.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Transitions of care are often risky, particularly for older people, and shorter hospital stays mean that patients can go home with ongoing care needs. Most previous research has focused on fundamental system flaws, however, care generally goes right far more often than it goes wrong. We explored staff perceptions of how high performing general practice and hospital specialty teams deliver safe transitional care to older people as they transition from hospital to home. METHODS:We conducted a qualitative study in six general practices and four hospital specialties that demonstrated exceptionally low or reducing readmission rates over time. Data were also collected across four community teams that worked into or with these high-performing teams. In total, 157 multidisciplinary staff participated in semi-structured focus groups or interviews and 9 meetings relating to discharge were observed. A pen portrait approach was used to explore how teams across a variety of different contexts support successful transitions and overcome challenges faced in their daily roles. RESULTS:Across healthcare contexts, staff perceived three key themes to facilitate safe transitions of care: knowing the patient, knowing each other, and bridging gaps in the system. Transitions appeared to be safest when all three themes were in place. However, staff faced various challenges in doing these three things particularly when crossing boundaries between settings. Due to pressures and constraints, staff generally felt they were only able to attempt to overcome these challenges when delivering care to patients with particularly complex transitional care needs. CONCLUSIONS:It is hypothesised that exceptionally safe transitions of care may be delivered to patients who have particularly complex health and/or social care needs. In these situations, staff attempt to know the patient, they exploit existing relationships across care settings, and act to bridge gaps in the system. Systematically reinforcing such enablers may improve the delivery of safe transitional care to a wider range of patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION:The study was registered on the UK Clinical Research Network Study Portfolio (references 35272 and 36174 ).

Dataset Information

Staff Perspectives on Primary Care Teams as De Facto "Hubs" for Care Coordination in VA: a Qualitative Study.

Publications

Staff Perspectives on Primary Care Teams as De Facto "Hubs" for Care Coordination in VA: a Qualitative Study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets