OVERLAND PARK, Kansas & LOUISVILLE, Kentucky—Health and community care technology company WellSky has announced a new partnership with CareRing Health, which offers a healthcare-at-home service delivery model for America’s chronically ill, aged and disabled populations.
Under the partnership, CareRing will leverage WellSky’s electronic health record technology, analytics solutions and services to deliver care to its homebound patients. CareRing Health is focused on bridging the health care gap for America’s dually eligible patient population—individuals who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage.
“There are approximately 13 million Americans who are dual eligible, and we find that for many of them, their needs are not being met by our health care system,” said CareRing Health CEO Steve Guenthner. “There is a considerable need for integrated home care services for this population, who often have chronic health conditions and are traditionally underserved. We hope this new partnership with WellSky will prove instrumental in helping CareRing reach its goals to improve health equity and provide high quality care in the home.”
CareRing Health’s care delivery model includes four services—PrimaryCare@home, SkilledCare@home, PersonalCare@home, and HospiceCare@home—to help patients their chronic, complex medical conditions, sucha as diabetes, COPD and hypertension, among others. CareRing Health says its home-based model can help patients manage chronic health conditions at home avoid high-cost emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and nursing home stays.
“We are initially focusing on this dually eligible population to demonstrate the efficacy of our new healthcare delivery service model in order to drive legislative changes within Medicare and Medicaid,” said Guenthner. “Eventually we plan to expand our focus to all aged and/or disabled.”
CareRing Health has developed neighborhood-centric Health Hubs in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Their other healthcare services are located in Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. As part of this model, CareRing looks to coordinate primary care, skilled care, personal care and hospice services in these geographic areas to best serve patients and manage their chronic conditions. WellSky technology will be utilized to coordinate care across care settings and provide insights that can help providers identify patient needs and deliver targeted interventions.
“Smart technology gives health care providers a comprehensive picture of a patient’s overall health, including their medical, social and behavioral needs. Advanced analytics, care coordination tools, and patient engagement capabilities can help to ensure that all individuals, no matter their background or socioeconomic status, have access to vital healthcare services,” said WellSky CEO Bill Miller. “WellSky is proud to partner with CareRing on its innovative approach to improving health equity while driving down the cost of care.”
