Identifying Best Practices in the Coordination of Care

The researchers examined how care is coordinated in ambulatory care settings. Specifically, they identified and documented “best practices” in physician offices that have developed care coordination processes and determined the financial implications of increased coordination. For example, the researchers assessed whether a periodic care coordination fee or itemized billing for coordination activities was more efficient. They also examined a group of “average practices” to assess how they set priorities for coordination activities and what barriers they encountered. The objective of the proposed project was to better inform the replication of organized care coordination processes in medical practices.