By Kathleen Ganster
Caring for patients, writing reports, researching cases….there isn’t enough time in a physician’s day to take care of every task.
That is why a partnership with Celtic Healthcare might make sense for many doctors.
“We provide the continuum of care in the standard that our patients have come to expect from their physicians. We can be a valuable resource for physicians,” said Kim Kranz, vice president of hospice.
Celtic Healthcare offers home healthcare and hospice care for patients in post-acute and chronic health stages, working in a team with the patients’ physicians. Teamwork is something that Celtic stresses.
“It is a team effort to keep someone’s loved one in their home, no matter what stage of their life. And of course, the physician is an important part of that team,” said Kranz.
Celtic works with the physician to determine what level of care is appropriate and necessary for a chronically or seriously ill patient. The Celtic caregivers are able to take the time to work closely with the family and patient to ensure not only that level of medical care is provided, but other needs are met as well.
“There isn’t a one care fit all. We have to make sure we are integrating all of the services each individual patient needs along with their own wishes,” she said.
The Celtic healthcare team can provide an assessment of the patient to the physician to enhance collaboration and ease the burden of the physician’s load.
And that might mean having important discussions and planning in advance.
“We can have those difficult conversations with families. Our caregivers get to really know there patients and often know when it is most appropriate to have the conversation about mom or dad’s care and when to move them to the next level,” Tonya Miller, vice president of home health said.
Part of the Celtic’s role is to provide resources not only to the families and patients, but to the primary physicians.
“Once the physician directs them (the patients) to us, we are there for them as a resource. We can provide ongoing services that make their role a bit easier,” Miller said.
Just like the patients’ physicians, Celtic strives to keep their clients from going “back and forth and back and forth” to the hospital, but to be healthy and comfortable in their own homes. And that means working with the physicians to ensure that care.
An important component to make this possible is the advanced technology utilized by Celtic in their Virtual Chronic Care methodology. That methodology has been proven to reduce unnecessary hospital re-admissions of chronic patients by 85%.
“Physicians can log on through their portal and access patient records, review test results and sign off on medical orders. That reduces the paper transactions and is another way Celtic reduces the burden to the physicians,” Miller said.
Kranz added that the immediate and easy accessibility to the Celtic patient app and technology is “extremely unique.”
“We are leaders in the area of technology in home healthcare and that is going to keep us ahead of the curve. To have that app available right at the bedside of the patient saves time and is extremely efficient,” she said.
Another important resource from Celtic is the Journey Program, complete with a Journey Care Counselor, a member of the healthcare team who works with patients and families to help them make informed decisions on the appropriate level of care at the appropriate time based on their individual’s wishes.
“The Journey Program has increased the satisfaction of the healthcare experience for everyone – not just the patients, but their families,” Miller said.
Patients with chronic serious and/or terminal illness want or need to know more about advance illness and end-of-life care options and their families work with the Journey team to make those important healthcare decisions in this phase of their lives.
Every aspect of care for the patients ties into that important goal – teamwork.
“We can work with physicians to make their lives easier and to make our patients more comfortable and happy. That is what is important,” Kranz.
To learn more about how Celtic Healthcare may assist you with your patients, visit www.celtichealthcare.com.
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