CommonSpirit Health Brings Hospital-Level Care Into The Comfort Of The Home With Contessa

CommonSpirit Health recently announced it is introducing a new hospital-level home care option. Home Recovery Care brings all the essential elements of hospital care to the comfort of the home, allowing many patients to avoid a hospital admission. Through a new partnership with Contessa, the leading operator of Home Recovery Care, this initiative represents CommonSpirit Health’s latest effort to leverage emerging technology to deliver convenient, consumer-centered health care to its patients.

CommonSpirit Health and Contessa are bringing high-quality, safe, and advanced hospital-level care directly to patients in their home. Although the hospital-at-home model has been around for a long time, it hasn’t been widespread, in part, due to barriers for reimbursement and an expectation for receiving care in a clinical setting. Advances in technology and evolving patient preferences are now making care at home more realistic for health systems, as evidenced by Contessa’s 92 percent acceptance rate among eligible patients.

“CommonSpirit Health envisions a future for health care with more access points so patients can receive care on their terms,” said Rich Roth, who leads strategic innovation for CommonSpirit Health. “Our work with Contessa will bring recommended intensive outpatient care into the comfort of one’s home so that we can improve health outcomes and help enhance the overall health of our communities. Finding ways to provide high-quality access to care in low cost settings is an essential component of how we must deliver care for the future.”

Contessa has found with one of their provider partners , that Home Recovery Care’s complex outpatient care management drives better health outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction by 22 percent, reducing readmission rates by 44 percent, and decreasing the mean length of a hospital stay by 35 percent. Reducing the need for hospital admissions, this patient-centered approach to treatment empowers people to take control of their health – in the home setting that is familiar and less stressful.

CommonSpirit Health’s investment in this value-based solution increases patients’ access to care in the home as a result of Contessa’s established relationships with national payors. Home Recovery Care will initially be offered to selected Medicare Advantage patients, with the goal of expanding to commercial and Medicaid patients over time.

Patients who have one or more of approximately 40 major medical conditions, such as asthma, dehydration, or pneumonia, can safely receive medical care in the comfort of their homes after being evaluated in various settings by a doctor. People enrolled in Home Recovery Care receive daily visits from an acute care-registered nurse, as well as regular physician check-ups through video visits over the course of 30 days.

“CommonSpirit Health’s goal to transform health care access and delivery by personalizing care for those with acute and chronic conditions, while simultaneously lowering the cost of care, is the impetus behind this initiative. Home Recovery Care is an extension of their dedication to their patients and the communities they serve. Contessa is humbled to partner with CommonSpirit Health to assist in driving their mission forward and in reaching the mutual goal of providing high-quality care at a much lower cost,” said Travis Messina, CEO of Contessa.

Contessa’s proprietary technology platform, Care Convergence, provides unique, extensive documentation for hospital-level care in the home, reducing administrative tasks for physicians, which allows them to spend more time with patients.

Home Recovery Care includes the following:

• Physician-led care plan
• In-home visits by an acute care registered nurse
• Virtual, in-home visits by a physician
• Access to physicians with a state-of-the-art telehealth system
• A dedicated Recovery Care Coordinator available 24/7, who ensures communication across the care team and schedules appointments
• Remote monitoring of vitals, biometrics, and adherence to care plan for 30 days
• Medication education from nurses to sustain recovery
• Medical care at home, including IVs, wound care, and dressing changes

CommonSpirit Health will initially launch Home Recovery Care in Phoenix at Chandler Regional Medical Center this month, with the goal of expanding across its system.