Connecting Low-Income Adults to Primary Care After Inpatient Discharge

Connecting Low-Income Adults to Primary Care After Inpatient Discharge

Healthcare systems and insurers have tried to reduce costs by improving the care and coordination provided to patients with high healthcare spending. Often termed, "hotspotting", these interventions seek to lower costs by reducing care provided in fragmented, high-cost settings, including the emergency department and inpatient settings, by addressing the social determinants of health and improving patients' access to lower-cost, ambulatory settings. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), in collaboration with Tennessee's Medicaid agency (TennCare), is piloting a program to reduce costs and improve the quality of care provided to high-risk TennCare enrollees by referring them from inpatient settings to VUMC primary care services. This study seeks to evaluate this pilot by comparing outcomes between Medicaid patients referred to VUMC primary care services and similar Medicaid patients not referred to VUMC primary care services using data from surveys and administrative sources, including electronic health records and health insurance claims.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 or older
• Currently enrolled in Tennessee's Medicaid Program (TennCare)
• Presenting in VUMC's inpatient setting
• Reporting no active relationship with a primary care doctor
• Lives in Davidson County, Tennessee, or a surrounding county

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients discharged to a setting other than the community (e.g. to a Skilled Nursing Facility)