'The Business of Health Care Report'

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I’m Doug Hawthorne, CEO of Texas Health Resources, with “The Business of Health Care Report.”

The healthcare system in our country has developed over time in silos, with different parts of the care team sometimes disconnected from one another. Texas Health is exploring new ways to break down the silos and collaborate across the entire continuum of care. Our goal is to improve health before people end up in the hospital, coordinate care if they do enter a hospital, and enhance follow-up care after they leave the hospital.

The Transitions Care initiative being implemented in several Texas Health hospitals is part of our overall strategy to integrate health services and help patients navigate through the complex environment of care.

Effective coordination of care after the patient is discharged can improve quality and patient safety, lower cost, improve patient outcomes and help prevent costly readmissions.

The Transitions Care program identifies patients who are most at-risk for readmissions, and aligns inpatient and post-hospital care teams around the patient’s needs. It also involves the patient’s primary care provider to facilitate monitoring and timely interventions.

Texas Health is working with Healthways, one of the largest independent providers of well-being improvement solutions, to implement the Transitions Care program. We’re also working together to develop an infrastructure that directs individuals with chronic diseases to the appropriate interventions.

For our faith-based health system — Texas Health Presbyterian, Texas Health Harris Methodist and Texas Health Arlington Memorial — I’m Doug Hawthorne.