South Florida Business Journal, Healthcare Finance News, Healthcare Payer News and Senior Market Advisor highlight the leadership of SeniorBridge and Metcare in taking a unique approach to reducing hospitalizations among seniors with multiple chronic conditions 

SOUTH FLORIDA (September 7, 2010) - Leading Florida and healthcare industry media spotlighted SeniorBridge's partnership with MetCare to address the needs of frequently hospitalized seniors, at no charge to those seniors. A few excerpts are below.

(From Healthcare Finance News)

Seniors with more than one chronic condition who are susceptible to frequent hospitalization will be enrolled in a patient-centered medical home pilot program in Florida with hopes that the year-long program will improve outcomes and reduce costs....

"With this program, SeniorBridge and Metcare are taking leadership to address a critical need to improve the health and function of the fastest growing segment of our population while reducing unnecessary and costly hospital admissions," said Eric C. Rackow, MD, president and CEO of SeniorBridge and immediate past president of NYU Hospital Center. "We expect our proven model to be a catalyst for improved care, to show significant return on investment and to be a healthcare reform standout."

(From South Florida Business Journal)

Under the SeniorBridge Care Management for MetCare program, nurses and social workers would visit patients in their homes to gather information on their conditions. The data would be stored in New York-based SeniorBridge's Web-based electronic medical records system.

Chronic disease management is common for HMOs, but it's usually done over the phone. Doing it in-person would allow the health care workers to identify ways to improve patients' living conditions, such as by removing hazardous fixtures from the homes of frail patients.

The program would be free for patients.

"SeniorBridge Care Management for MetCare responds to the clear need for highly trained advocates to help patients at risk for multiple hospitalizations navigate the complexities of their care with a highly personalized approach," Metropolitan Health President and COO Dr. Jose Guethon said in a news release. "We believe this type of initiative has the potential to build on MetCare's patient-centered medical home care model, to further empower primary care physicians while improving health literacy, quality of life and care of our customers."

You can read the articles which published in South Florida Business Journal, Healthcare Finance News, Healthcare Payer News and Senior Market Advisor in their entirety by clicking on the name of each respective outlet in this sentence.