'Coaching' Care Can Help Cut Medical Costs

SUNDAY, Oct. 8, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- "Health-care transition coaches," who encourage people to take a more active role in maintaining their health can help reduce patients' hospital bills and rates of re-hospitalization, according to a University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center study.

The program is designed for patients who require treatment in multiple sites of care.

The "transition coach" works with patients on four main areas: medication self-management; the creation of a personal health record maintained by the patient; obtaining timely follow-up care; and developing a plan to seek care if certain symptoms appear.

The coach keeps in contact with patients across different health-care settings in the first 30 days after they're discharged from the hospital.

The program was created to solve problems -- such as conflicting medical advice, medication errors and lack of follow-up -- that often affect patients during periods of transition between sites of care.

For every 350 patients who receive the Care Transitions Intervention, hospital costs will be reduced by about $300,000, according to the study authors. They noted this approach may be especially beneficial when dealing with older patients with complex care needs.

The study found the intervention yielded immediate results and also gave patients skills that had long-term positive effects.

"We were excited to see the significant reduction in hospital readmission during the first 30 days while the coach was involved. What was even more exciting, however, was the finding that these patients were significantly more likely to stay out of the hospital up to six months later," researcher Dr. Eric Coleman said in a prepared statement.

The study was published in a recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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