(SPONSORED) Steven C. Linn, MD, MPh, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Inspira Health Network, discusses the challenges of population and care management and how strategic use of technology can help deliver to clinicians the right care to the right patient and patient population at the right time. The Vineland, NJ-based health system brings together expert physicians from three medical centers and more than 60 locations to provide communities with quality, inspiring care under one network.

Q: How is healthcare delivery changing, and how does it affect Inspira Health Network?

A: This is likely going to be one of the most transformative times in healthcare in generations. We will be challenged to manage the health of a group of individuals or a community over time instead of treating patients individually and episodically as we do today. We’re being asked to take more accountability of the cost of care, and for the quality and outcomes of care, rather than to just provide services when people are sick.

Under the traditional fee-for-service model, we delivered a service, we submitted a bill and we were paid. So we had a strong incentive to do a lot of things for patients whenever they needed or wanted them. As we transition from volume to value, we will assume the risk for the cost of care, and will therefore need to manage the health of the patient over several years and do it as efficiently and with the highest quality possible.

Q: The shift to managing population wellness makes it increasingly vital for every member of the care delivery team to be guided by the latest medical knowledge. It seems to be a potentially overwhelming challenge.

A: That’s because there’s an overwhelming amount of information to manage in medicine. We need tools that are readily available at the physician’s side whenever they’re caring for a patient that will help guide them and make sure they’re providing the evidence-based medicine that the patient needs and deserves. Clinicians need the right information at the point of care, tying chronic condition and wellness care plans to the most current research. Equipped that way, clinicians are better positioned to understand the issues for that patient based on that specific patient risk and need, so that they can respond in the appropriate way.

Today’s technology can take the value of that clinical evidence an important step further by embedding it in process management tools for orchestrating care plans defined for specific disease states. Alerts can notify the care manager or physician if there is a gap in care that needs to be filled. Those workflows will really make the delivery of the highest-quality evidence-based care possible.

We’re treating populations as a whole, but we’re doing it one patient at a time. Treatment strategies need to be individualized for a patient’s particular condition and overall health profile, ideally in a way that addresses his or her individual preferences and behaviors.