PATH ALONG Scholarly Approach To Readmissions

PATH ALONG is an original Wisconsin model (service set) that connects inpatient providers to community staff who support the patient during health system transitions.  PATH ALONG is a trademarked model owned by Home Care Path www.homecarepath.com a leading senior care provider serving south central Wisconsin. 

PATH ALONG by its very function serves a rural population.  Researchers pooled relative risk directly related to rural setting, seasonal economy with extreme fluctuations in population in developing this model.  To summerize PATH ALONG concluded hospitals would need to align themselves with community services.

Home Care Path analysis of a hospitals need to align themselves with community service went further with identifying a frequency related to multidisciplinary.  Multidisciplinary communication presented most often with strings of expanding management.  This seems to capture the information exchange occurring with each individual department serving the patient during the hospital stay. 

This speaks to quality of the inpatient stay.  Each individual department delivers pertinent information which when secured for utilization will enhance over all patient benefit.  The variant being the increased severity of illness required to be hospitalized.  Researchers determined to bolster wellness between inpatient serving departments an ill person would benefit from the presence of another.

Researchers labeled favorable results with a C, which was a lead indication a consistent supportive person improved participation during the hospital stay.  Simply patients benefit from a consistent support person throughout the hospital stay and into the home setting.

Researchers were stumped with need variation which would not fit neatly in to a single service.  To develop a high performing model research indicated the need to verbalize three individual services.  The stand alone services seem to possess an integrity for utilization that goes beyond an improved means to communicate with the hospital providers and the consumer population.  Simply each defined service is needs based. 

To operate the model would need a defined pay source.  The team explained the tasks completed by the PATH ALONG staff would be non medical.  The committee determined having non medical staff would provide an attractive cost reduction.  An agreed upon initial fee for service would be 20.00 per hour.  The consumer could contribute to the low out of pocket investment.

The 3 services are:

1. Inpatient advocacy provides a staff person to accompany the senior on their hospital stay.

2. Temporary help with a scheduled day surgery.  Staff accompany the person to the hospital for the procedure and follow the person in the home setting until the senior can get by alone.

3. Crisis intervention with transitional counseling provides a staff person who helps the family with an immediate and long term care plan.  The focus is to bring needed service to the person.

PATH ALONG is an evidence based model with three defined services to help the hospitalist fulfill their continuity of care role.   Reach us at 608-432-4286.