Homefront Insights

Health disparities and complex social determinants of health (SDoH) have historically compromised patient access to quality care. But policy changes announced recently from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are expected to mitigate these challenges.

One of the most notable synergies in this current healthcare environment is the growing complement between two disciplines: population health, which focuses on improving the health of populations, with a special emphasis on reducing disparities in health outcomes and improving the value of health care, and palliative care, which focuses on improving the quality of life for patients and families facing the challenges of a serious or advanced illness.

Feeling lonely and isolated from friends, family and familiar places is more than simply an emotional quagmire for millions of Americans.

Most hospital discharge processes can be improved, as evidenced by readmission rates that remain too high, which are the result of confusion many patients and families face after leaving the hospital. Three relatively simple ideas can reshape the hospital discharge process and increase the likelihood of successful transitions of care.

Nothing diminishes the seriousness of a cancer diagnosis, but does it really have to come with endless shuttling from hospital to home to physical therapy to home, and so on? No, it doesn’t.

The Medicare Advantage program is a way for seniors to obtain Medicare Parts A and B benefits and often Part D as well from a Medicare-approved commercial insurance carrier instead of directly from the government. Medicare Advantage plans are growing rapidly, and there are good reasons for their popularity.

Healing at home is a trend that’s been quickly gaining speed in developed countries around the world. In the United States, however, health systems that encourage patients who don’t need intensive 24/7 hospital care to opt for home care instead, is being adopted at a slower pace.