An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is a group of healthcare professionals working to provide Medicare patients with a coordinated care solution. Value-Based Care (VBC), used as the model of care within an ACO, is especially relevant when managing chronic illnesses, where proactively monitoring and treating patients generates better outcomes.

The new Patient Care Coordinator (PCC) position recently rolled out by South Carolina House Calls (SCHC) further enhances the company's healthcare offerings within both Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) and Assisted Living Communities (AL).

It is that time of year again when the days seem to stretch for an eternity and the sun tracking high in the sky makes it challenging to find those cool shady spots. Keeping your skin safe from damaging ultra-violet (UV) rays is something essential to include in your day-to-day summertime routine.

April 16th is National Healthcare Decision Day. The nationwide initiative encourages families to have the sometimes-difficult conversations that deal with a person's medical care if they cannot advocate for themselves. Advanced Care Planning (ACP) allows a caregiver to make healthcare decisions based on a patient's desires rather than guessing their wishes.

February is the month for matters of the heart with Valentine's Day, symbolizing emotional love for our life partners. February is also American Heart Month, first proclaimed by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and focusing on heart health.

Every new patient entering the South Carolina & Georgia House Calls system starts with our Intake Specialty team. This team of providers sees patients via telemedicine within the first 24-72 hours from referral.

With the 20-21 (Flu) season rapidly approaching, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone six months and older be vaccinated with few exceptions. September and October are considered good months to be vaccinated, with the recommended target for completion by the end of October.

The diabetic specialty group within South Carolina & Georgia House Calls has a new tool in the fight against Retinopathy. Their sophisticated new portable retina screening camera gives their practitioners within their diabetic specialty group the ability to offer an essential early screening solution for their diabetic patients.

With all the advances in medical technology, including Electronic Medical Records, specialized software, and the thousands of systems developed exclusively for the medical industry, it lacks essential communication and coordination

There is a good reason that insurance companies, including Medicaid, and Medicare cover the total cost of annual wellness visits – they consider them essential to overall healthcare.

For most people, healthcare has always been reactive. You have an illness or injury, you see a doctor, and they address the specific ailment. A proactive approach where a provider takes time to perform a full assessment and then helps you find ways to improve is a more innovative option.

One of the overlooked advantages of providing patient care through telehealth or in-home visits is the amount of patient customization medical care companies can provide. Medical home visits can handle anything from lab work, immunizations, x-rays, automated medication dispensing, specialist referral, advanced care planning, and the daily remote monitoring of vitals.

Every day, nurse practitioners (NPs) are saving lives and improving the health of our friends and family. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has elevated awareness of how NPs are essential to our health care system. To honor their heroic efforts, communities nationwide are joining Columbia in recognizing the critical role of NPs as part of the annual National Nurse Practitioner Week (NP Week) celebration, held November 7-13 this year.

Diabetes is a chronic problem in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three Americans have prediabetes, and 37.3 million people are currently diagnosed with the disease. The disease, if left uncontrolled, can lead to severe complications, with cardiovascular disease being one of the most prevalent.

The power of a team in any industry rests in its expanded capabilities when focused on a common goal. A team approach in healthcare delivery uses the patient's overall wellness as its common goal. South Carolina & Georgia House Calls (SC & GA HC) combines their primary care offering with the expertise of multiple in-house specialties to benefit patients with varying needs by treating the whole patient.

People hire personal trainers to reach their fitness goals and to be held accountable for doing the work, and executives hire coaches to help them meet the goals they have set for their companies. South Carolina & Georgia House Calls (SC & GA HC) believes these same principles apply to patients setting healthcare goals, especially those suffering from chronic illnesses or struggling to make healthier lifestyle choices.

Medical care is not a one-way street. Patients involved in their care who view the patient-caregiver relationship as a partnership will often experience better outcomes. Here are eight things patients can do to ensure the best result when seeing their provider.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, six measures are used to evaluate the delivery of value-based healthcare – safe, effective, timely, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered. Insurance companies and providers agree to a combination of these measures in determining a quality score for their patients.

South Carolina & Georgia House Calls (SC & GA HC) practices a value-based healthcare model. Value-based is a better-positioned incentive that seeks to improve a patient’s overall health and outcome in a measurable way. Under this model, providers are paid based on patient outcomes rather than a fee-for-service model that ties reimbursements to the number of healthcare services delivered.