Hunterdon Medical Center (HMC) was one of the first U.S. hospitals to embrace the idea that improving patient care would also reduce hospital costs, through New Jersey’s pioneering gainsharing demonstration project launched in 2009. To build on its forward-thinking care coordination strategy, HMC today announced another NJ first: A partnership with RightCare Solutions, Inc., a software provider that specializes in optimizing care transitions to reduce avoidable readmissions and cut unnecessary length of stay.
“Deploying RightCare’s end-to-end software gives HMC a quality-improvement tool that stretches across the continuum of care.”
Unlike any other health care software, RightCare uses an evidence-based algorithm fed by patient-specific psychosocial information to determine risk for readmission and associated need for post-acute care. Patients are then matched, referred, and transitioned to services that best meet their needs. HMC has selected the full suite of RightCare tools, which spans the care continuum from admission through discharge and self-care.
HMC is the first New Jersey health care provider to adopt RightCare, which also supports compliance with the state’s CARE Act that took effect in May 2015. The new law requires engagement with family caregivers as relatives are admitted to, transitioned within, and discharged from acute care facilities in the state. RightCare enables HMC to operationalize key provisions of the act to meet expanding expectations of patients and their families.
“Using RightCare will streamline workflows and support our ongoing efforts to meet the challenges of reimbursement reform and the CARE Act,” said Dr. Robert Coates, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs at HMC. “When Hunterdon Medical Center opened in 1953, it drew national attention for focusing on wellness and quality of care. RightCare’s vision and patient-centric philosophy will help us further that tradition, as we work together to reduce readmissions, connect with caregivers, and improve patient outcomes—strengthening the value of our service and benefitting our whole community.”
HMC case managers will use each of the four RightCare modules to complete tasks throughout an episode of care:
- RightCare Assessment identifies risk and need for post-acute care at the point of admission.
- RightCare Coordination Central prioritizes patients based on their level of risk and matches them to post-acute care services that cater to their needs.
- RightCare Post-Care Connect electronically processes referrals and alerts facilities of their selection (if applicable).
- Following discharge, RightCare Touch directly connects patients with providers to ensure adherence and support of personalized care plan needs. Case managers can intervene to prevent avoidable readmissions and Emergency Department utilization.
“HMC initially contacted us to replace its existing risk assessment software, but they really needed a way to streamline workflows, manage increasing risk-sharing arrangements, and prevent costly readmissions and use of the emergency room,” said Eric Heil, Co-founder, President & CEO of RightCare. “Deploying RightCare’s end-to-end software gives HMC a quality-improvement tool that stretches across the continuum of care.”
Aiming for a December 2015 launch, RightCare will help HMC integrate the new software with existing IT and Health Information Exchange (HIE) assets, ensuring a smooth transition for its patients and its post-acute network partners.
About RightCare
RightCare is a Philadelphia-based medical technology company that helps hospitals and health systems reduce readmissions and optimize post-acute care delivery. RightCare’s software identifies the risk and needs for all patients at admission, matches patients to the right level of post-acute care and applicable community-based services, connects seamlessly to post-acute care providers, and engages patients directly with personalized care plans. The company’s proprietary technology was developed through a decade of research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. For more information, please visit www.RightCareSolutions.com or follow us on Twitter at @TeamRightCare.
About Hunterdon Medical Center
Hunterdon Medical Center, acknowledged as a leader in developing comprehensive medical and health care services, is a 178-bed non-profit community hospital. Our goal is to meet the needs with health care that is compassionate and effective. We provide a full range of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic inpatient and outpatient hospital and community health services. Our staff is committed to providing the highest quality care to our patients.
The Hunterdon Medical Center is also a teaching institution and is affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. The Family Medicine Residency Program is one of the first in the nation for the training of specialists in family medicine.
Hunterdon Medical Center is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health, and accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). It is designated a Magnet hospital for superior nursing care.
