Innovative healthcare for chronically ill older persons: results of a national survey.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the origin, scope, operations, funding, and outcomes of innovative healthcare programs for chronically ill older persons.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
A national expert panel nominated chronic illness programs they believed to be innovative and field tested. The directors of the 31 eligible programs provided descriptive information in 60-minute semistructured telephone interviews.


RESULTS
The innovative programs we surveyed tended to target their services to high-risk patients, use teams of providers to deliver care, designate providers to coordinate multiple components of complex care plans, and shift care from higher- to lower-cost environments and/or redesign the delivery of primary care.


CONCLUSIONS
Recent innovations in healthcare programs hold considerable promise for improving the outcomes of chronic care, but most have yet to be rigorously evaluated.
Boult
C
C
Department of Family Practice and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, USA. boult001@tc.umn.edu
Kane
R L
RL
Pacala
J T
JT
Wagner
E H
EH
D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D014481:United States