Complex Care Planning Process at Mercy Health

Michael Olgren, MS, MMI, MD, FACEP, CMIO, and Diplomate in Clinical Informatics of the ABPM, Mercy Health Saint Mary’s Campus, a member of Trinity Health.  Most healthcare workers feel patient complexity has gone through the roof, along with the expectation of managing the costs these patients incur. As we move to value-based care, that cost burden will shift to the providers and hospitals. Using a fairly simple IT solution, combined with a dedicated team, Mercy Health has significantly decreased the cost of caring for this population, in a manner scalable to most institutions. Additionally, this process has led to increased provider satisfaction with a reduction in cognitive burden, without damaging patient satisfaction.