By Karen A. Edwards, MS, RRT, RCEP, FAACVPR
The ability of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programs to deliver value-based care has certainly changed over the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we provide the best quality patient care through data-driven analysis and service improvement. While the focus should be on the cost of that care, the value that cardiopulmonary rehabilitation brings to the hospital system and healthcare cannot be overlooked. The value-based care initiative provides resources that help cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation professionals to:
- Assign accountability
- Target efficiencies
- Strategize operational transformation
- Restructure the care delivery model
- Implement effective technology solutions in management
- Ultimately improve the patient and practitioner experience
The value-based care committee has developed several turnkey strategies that can be used as how-to guides for delivering value-based care in your rehabilitation program. Recently, the focus has been on developing turnkey strategies for Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR). The need for easy-to-implement, practical, best-practice strategies for PR programs is long overdue. PR programs face many challenges, and these turnkey strategies are designed to help clinicians quickly and efficiently make changes that will add value to their programs. The following PR specific turnkey strategies are being developed:
- PR Referral & Enrollment – available now!
- COPD Readmission and the Role of PR – available Spring 2021
- Adherence and PR – available Summer 2021
Turnkey strategies are valuable resources for improving your cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation program. The turnkeys are grouped into the following categories for easy reference: administration, behavior, exercise and nutrition; they can be found on the AACVPR website at https://www.aacvpr.org/Value-Based-Care. Take the opportunity to review these turnkeys and discuss with your team how you can implement one strategy that will add more value to your cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program. Creating a targeted focus on even one aspect of your program benefits not only your program and patients, but the hospital system and healthcare overall.