Post-acute care continues to serve as one of the leading forms of care for medically complex, COVID-19 and “long-hauler” patients. By offering multiple post-acute services, health systems are able to effectively influence quality of care across the continuum, therefore becoming better positioned to avoid the penalties of readmissions, manage clinical outcomes post-discharge and improve patient satisfaction.
Discover the role post-acute care has within a hospital’s care continuum and the substantial impact it will continue to have within the healthcare landscape both now and in the future.
Increased need for post-acute services aiding medically complex, COVID-19 and “long-hauler” patients
Certain post-acute services, such as acute rehabilitation, are specifically designed to treat the complexities of today’s growing patient population, especially for those that spent extended time in a hospital and require aggressive interventions to regain function. This form of care differs from lower levels of care such as skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health, making it valuable and increasingly necessary across a hospital’s care continuum.
Additional benefits of integrating inpatient rehabilitation into a hospital’s care continuum include:
- Increased clinical and quality effectiveness. Inpatient rehabilitation is known for having exceptional clinical and quality outcomes, and reducing hospital readmission rates – benefiting the hospital as a whole.
- Streamlined interdisciplinary team approach. Specialized care requires expertise from specialized clinicians including highly-trained medical directors. By having the expertise within the hospital’s care continuum, it reduces the opportunity for errors, improves care consistency and transitions.
- Improved patient throughput management. Having inpatient rehabilitation available within a system’s care continuum helps ensure that patients receive the right form of care at the right time in their care journey and stay for the appropriate amount of time. This frees up needed acute space and allows patients to efficiently and effectively progress in their recovery.
When a health system builds out their post-acute program they not only strengthen their ability to provide high quality care in multiple setting, but they help to ensure optimal outcomes are met for both the patient and hospital regardless of medically complexity. Joint ventures and management partnerships can accelerate this process and bring key expertise around branding, technology and risk stratification.
