To Reduce Costs, Health Workers Move Toward More Contact with Patients

The days when doctors simply waited for sick people to walk into their clinics are done.

Many patients with chronic diseases now find themselves in contact with clinic-employed health coaches who nudge them to take their medications, eat right, be active and assume ownership of their health.

These efforts go well beyond previous patient outreach, in part because they are increasingly tied to insurance payments. The goal is to reduce costs by rewarding providers more for keeping groups of patients well rather than simply for office visits and procedures. Clinic decisions and costs also are tracked better as electronic medical records become more widely adopted.

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Source: LiveWell Nebraska