Identify High-Risk Patients For Readmission
By Wendy Grafius, contributing writer
Houston Methodist chooses RightCare to identify high-risk patients, reduce readmission among mental health population
Houston Methodist, one of the nation’s leading hospital systems, has selected RightCare’s software solution to identify mental health patients that are at high risk for readmission. The implementation at three locations, Texas Medical Center, San Jacinto/Baytown, and Willowbrook, is expected to reduce readmissions and optimize the continuum of care for the system’s mental health population.
According to a report issued by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, mental health and substance abuse conditions account for 9.3 percent of initial admissions of Medicaid beneficiaries. This number increases to 27.4 percent when looking at potentially preventable readmissions (PPR). Patients afflicted with alcoholic liver disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression tend to have the highest PPR rates.
RightCare’s proprietary solution was developed to address this problem. The unique, evidence-based algorithm enables continuous point-of-care decision support. “We are thrilled that Houston Methodist has chosen RightCare to help optimize the continuum of care for its mental health population,” said Eric Heil, RightCare co-founder, president, and CEO. “By utilizing the software, Houston Methodist will be well-equipped to identify high-risk patients upon admission, offer them the right care, and drastically improve outcomes.”
The RightCare implementation at Houston Methodist will include all three modules: Risk Assessment, Coordination Central, and Post Care Connect. By seamlessly integrating the entire software suite, Houston Methodist will be able to identify, prioritize, and transition its most high-risk mental health patients, with the goal of reducing PPR rates.
Based in Houston, Texas, Houston Methodist is a faith-based not-for-profit comprehensive health system, anchored by 766-bed Houston Methodist Hospital. Four community hospitals, San Jacinto, Sugar Land, Willowbrook, and Houston Methodist West Hospital, allow the healthcare leader to extend its clinical and service excellence to the greater Houston area. A Magnet hospital and leading academic medical center, Houston Methodist is primarily affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” list named Houston Methodist the No. 1 hospital both in Texas and in the Houston metro area. The hospital ranked among the nation’s top facilities in 13 of 16 specialties: heart/heart surgery, ophthalmology, neurology/neurosurgery, gastroenterology, gynecology, diabetes/endocrinology, orthopedics, nephrology, geriatrics, pulmonology, urology, ear/nose/throat, and cancer.
SOURCE: Business Wire