In a new issue brief, the Commonwealth Fund has identified what it views to be six key elements for improving care for high-need, high-cost patients – those who consume disproportionate amounts of health care. They are:

• Promote value-based payments
• Improve value-based payment design and implementation
• Allow payments for non-medical services
• Assist clinicians in adopting best practices
• Prioritize health information exchange
• Support ongoing presentation

Permitting payments for non-medical services is especially important for private safety-net hospitals. As the issue brief notes, and as private safety-net hospitals have long observed, meeting the housing, nutrition, social, and other personal needs of high-care, high-cost patients can play as great a role in their overall health as the medical services they receive.

Learn more about what these options are and why they are important in the Commonwealth Fund issue brief “Tailoring Complex Care Management for High-Need, High-Cost Patients.”