NEW YORK (September 12, 2019)—Senior Helpers, a provider of in-home senior care, announced that it has begun deploying the industry's first data-driven client assessment process based on the concept of Micro Social Determinants of Health (MSDOH).
Called LIFE Profile (for Life Independence Function Evaluation), the new assessment for senior care uses a framework to measure a client's ability across five key categories which include daily living activities, home safety, medical condition management, caregiver stress and quality of life. This new process for evaluating the ongoing care requirements delivers improved client care, reduces overall system costs and provides the basis for a shift in the historic approach to ongoing care management.
To develop LIFE Profile, Senior Helpers partnered with Performance Based Healthcare Solutions, LLC in Houston, TX whose 18-years of research provided the structure for the new approach. LIFE Profile was validated by Senior Helpers in national pilot tests during 2018 and 2019. The tests demonstrated that LIFE Profile and the related care plan do a significantly better job of helping clients successfully age at home.
"Beyond providing improved care for our clients, LIFE Profile and the related care planning process has the potential to significantly change the approach to caring for seniors in the US, while simultaneously lowering health care costs," said Peter Ross, CEO of Senior Helpers. "The dramatic reduction in readmission rates achieved with the LIFE Profile assessment demonstrates that Senior Helpers' new framework, and the use of Micro Social Determinants of Health, offers the promise of both better care for seniors and lower costs for society."
The LIFE Profile assessment was used to develop care plans for seniors who were recently discharged from a skilled nursing facility (SNF) to their home. Those who were evaluated with LIFE Profile and followed the recommended care plan had a 30-day readmission rate of just 3%. This compares to the national average readmission rate of more than 21% for those who do not use LIFE Profile. Importantly, the clients who were assessed using LIFE Profile continued to do well and did not have an increased readmission rate at 60-days or 90-days after discharge.
Senior Helpers has begun to deploy its new LIFE Profile assessment across the country. Eventually, LIFE Profile is expected to be available through more than 300 offices nationwide.
Researchers have long known that Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), which considers the conditions where people live, learn, work and play significantly influence health outcomes. However, incorporating the SDOH elements into care planning for seniors has proven to be very difficult. Working with industry specialists, Senior Helpers developed a new approach that incorporates what they call 'Micro' Social Determinants of Health (MSDOH). The MSDOH information is used to recognize those tasks that clients can do for themselves versus those that require additional support. Over the past year, the company piloted the LIFE Profile approach nationally and were able verify a significant improvement in client outcomes.
"It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of patients with multiple chronic conditions and functional limitation lack adequate help for their activities of daily living, and more than half lack satisfactory help with their care coordination," said Dr. Alan Abrams, a geriatric clinical advisor, member of the Senior Helpers Board of Directors and the former Chief Medical Officer of the Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization. "The health care costs associated with functional limitation, such as difficulty performing activities of daily living, are expected to grow to $182 billion per year by 2020. We feel that LIFE Profile offers the potential to significantly reduce these costs."
Information about Senior Helpers new LIFE Profile assessment can be found on the Senior Helpers website here. Details from the pilot test are available in a whitepaper published by Senior Helpers, available here.
