REGIONAL
HEALTHCARE
Fair health care without cost overruns
Our health system is not as good as it could be, a lesson we’ve recently learned during the Corona pandemic. Doctors, nurses and therapists work under tight time pressure, there are shortages of both junior and expert staff, many clinics are fighting to survive and costs are rising. Regardless of this, health literacy and patient engagement play only a minor role, digital transformation crawls forward and both the various sector and stakeholders are poorly networked.
The good news is that it’s now getting better
While we do have excellent and specialised health care providers, good on-site social structures and proven concepts for a better, health-promoting care system, the missing links are the intelligent combination and alignment of specific patient benefits. To achieve this, we develop health care networks in both urban and rural settings to engage health care providers, pharmacies, associations, schools, companies and the communities for health care promotion and real cooperation. An on-site team coordinates the processes in its own place of business with the regional OptiMedis team and develops tailor made health care solutions. At the centre point of this is the client who will be enabled to live healthily and as a patient will be able to actively participate in their treatment.
We improve the general health of the population with health care science-based interventions and campaigns, such as our health coaches and health kiosks. This approach reduces the costs to health insurers, with whom we conclude contracts as a basis for the establishment of the new network structures.
The OptiMedis Model
The OptiMedis model for integrated, population- centred health care includes the establishment, implementation and financing of innovative health care networks. The focus is on health promotion, coordinated health care management, cooperation and digital innovation. Together with other stakeholders in health- and social-care, we develop on site structures in which all of those involved in the provision of health care can work closer together and overcome previous limitations.
Four dimensional goals
The model aims to raise the general health of the population, increase patient satisfaction and improve job satisfaction for health and social work professions. Costs will also be reduced.
The right incentives are essential for quality and efficiency
In the OptiMedis model, the incentives reward a population’s health maintenance. Prevention, health-promotion, patient engagement and targeted health care, especially for the chronically ill, are all intensively encouraged to ensure more health for a reduced cost.
An innovative financial model: shared-savings
We sign shared-savings contracts between our regional networks and health insurers. This means that if we manage to improve the populations health in a given region (thereby reducing the total costs to the health insurers), then a part of the saving is given as a bonus to the regional health management company that directs the on-site health care. When people become more active and engaged in promoting their own health, when double examinations, drug interactions and unnecessary hospital visits can be avoided, the health insurers’ costs are further reduced.
Our health networks
What exactly happens for the people in their areas? What work do our networks do? Learn more in our short video (in German).
We’ve successfully established our model at these locations
Services
Development, implementation and management of innovative health networks
In cooperation with regional health stakeholders and partners, we build integrated health and health care solutions. Doctors, therapists, hospitals, care facilities, pharmacies, social facilities and many other stakeholders can work together to overcome previous sectoral boundaries. The focus is on health promotion, coordinated health care management, cooperation and digital innovation. People are actively involved in their treatment, encouraged to seek help for conditions at an early stage and to improve their own health. Additionally, associations, schools and companies are important partners of the networks. Health science-based interventions improve the health status of the general population, benefitting the entire region. The cost reductions enjoyed by the health insurers are used to cover costs for expenses and investment.
Regional analyses
From analysis of the regional health care structures and requirements for a given area, to performance, market and economic analyses: with the help of our reliable data insights, we can get an overview of the healthcare provision in a region or for segments of the population, single practices and even specific issues. This allows for prioritised decision making, planning of targeted interventions and needed adaptations.
Health and health care management
Based on regional requirements, we develop health programmes (for example, for the chronically ill), establish effective quality- and medication management, set up health promotion in companies and arrange health kiosks, health coaches and community nurses to ensure for more health literacy and engagement in the population.
Project initiation and funding acquisition
From the outset (at the project design stage), we support you by identifying and acquiring project funding sources, e.g., the Innovationsfond, a German federal instrument that funds integrated healthcare and health services research. We reach out to our many contacts for possible partners and funding agencies and attend to contracting.
Communication, networking and acquisition
OptiMedis handles the entire external presentation of the project, including professional and systematic communication to all stakeholder groups and the acquisition of partners and investors. Our outreach ensures that regional projects are known to their target groups. We include the projects in an open-source knowledge network.
Digital transformation and promotion of innovation
With our partners, we bring digitization and other innovations into health care practice. We test health apps, online-interventions, disease-specific programs and much more in real world health care and assess them for use, acceptance and feasibility before finally developing implementation models for real world use.
Health care research and evaluation
We will measure the success of your project or interventions, helping to drive continual improvement in patient care. Our projects are based upon evidence-based solutions that work.
CLIMATE & HEALTHCARE
High carbon consumption in the health sector
First initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and integrate environmental aspects into the health system already exist, such as “Greener NHS”. However, as they mainly focus on energy efficiency, waste reduction and transport in hospitals, the related measures alone are not sufficient to achieve the necessary decarbonisation.
Those who want to make future healthcare sustainable should consider new and less carbon-intensive models of care. In this context, hospitals must, for example, consider the outpatient potential of interventions, but also develop strategies on transport (journeys, transfers, parking) and nutrition (health promotion, planetary health diet). Read more about this in the 2020 Standards for Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services.
Medical services are overused
Another problem is the apparently widespread overuse of medical services: Estimates suggest that up to 30 per cent are wasteful or of low value, while 10 per cent are even considered harmful. Although initiatives are being launched to identify and avoid unnecessary or low-value care, such as with Choosing Wisely (German Society of Internal Medicine 2022; Choosing Wisely 2014), there is still a long way to go to establish an environmentally friendly healthcare system without deteriorating patient care.
Integrated care offers opportunities
One of the goals of integrated care models is to reduce unnecessary and burdensome treatments for patients. We are currently developing methods to measure the Co2 impact of care pathways. Our goal is not only to improve quality and efficiency through new care models, but also to reduce CO2 emissions in the healthcare system.
Successful examples of our concepts
Whether in an urban or rural setting, there is an ever-growing need for specially trained people who can help clients on their way through the health system, taking into account both preventative measures and their current health. It is crucial to engage people and to promote health, prevent illness and provide the help that they really need. You will benefit from innovations and proven concepts that can be tailored to your regional requirements.
Contact
Dr. h.c. Helmut Hildebrandt
Chair of the Board of OptiMedis
+49 40 22621149-0
+49 172 4215165
h.hildebrandt@optimedis.de
