A Q&A Introduction to Chronic Care Management - What to Know

Chronic care management has helped many individuals receive proper treatment and improve their quality of life. If you’re a healthcare provider and wish to provide the same benefits to your own patients, then you should definitely consider adopting it into your practice. However, we understand that you might have a few questions about providing this type of care and what it would entail. We’ll shed light on the matter by answering some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the subject.

Q: What is chronic care management?

A: Chronic care management, or simply CCM, encompasses a wide range of activities that are carried out by a health practitioner to provide care for patients with chronic health conditions. It can include condition oversight, disease education, patient monitoring, and the prescription of medication for qualified individuals. These services are generally non-face-to-face, allowing patients to receive treatment at any time and from different care providers. It was originally launched in 2015 by The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Their intention was to provide people with multiple chronic conditions constant and reliable access to quality healthcare services.

Q: Which health conditions can CCM be applied to?

A: CCM is available for people who are battling any type of chronic condition including, but not limited to: arthritis, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, sleep apnea, and mental health diseases. In other words, it includes a wide range of illnesses that vary in seriousness. However, a patient seeking CCM must have been diagnosed with multiple (two or more) chronic conditions in order to qualify for the program. There are other requirements as well. The patient’s conditions must be expected to last for at least 12 months, and that their conditions require them to receive regular treatments for its entire duration. As such, it is important for you to let your patients know whether they are eligible or not. The program is beneficial for both you and the patient, so failing to inform them about the program should be avoided.

Q: Will CCM cost my practice a lot of money?

A: No. In fact, the program will bring more revenues to your practice. CCM pays participating healthcare providers the cost of the patient’s treatment each time they receive it. The requirement is that your practice should have provided at a patient with at least 20 minutes of non-face-to-face care within one month. Of course, you would have to have documented this care and furnish it alongside your billing statement.

Conclusion

CCM is highly beneficial for your practice, your patients, and the medical industry as a whole. If you want to adopt this program into your own practice, we recommend working with a third-party service provider to help you out. This way, you can better focus your energies on treating patients rather than managing the intricacies of the program. Additionally, we recommend taking advantage of certain medical devices that allow you to better care for your patients since CCM is generally non-face-to-face. These technologies will allow you to administer health tests and monitor your patients’ vitals even when you are physically apart. We offer chronic care management tools for healthcare professionals and we’d be happy to clarify any of your concerns - contact us today to find out more!