Insights
Addressing CMS’ Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) Challenges: The Case for Enhanced Recovery Protocols & Nurse Navigation
As hospitals navigate CMS’s Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), many are searching for evidence-based approaches that align with the model’s focus on quality, satisfaction, outcomes, and costs. Enhanced Recovery protocols represent one promising avenue, though implementation has proven challenging across the healthcare system. The Implementation Gap Despite 25 years of research supporting Enhanced Recovery protocols,…
Read MoreBright spots emerge in the prescription opioid crisis
We’re making progress, but the gap between intention and practice reveals how far we still need to go. Ten years after the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons called for a cultural shift in opioid prescribing, bright spots are emerging. Multimodal pain management protocols at institutions like Cleveland Clinic have significantly reduced patient reliance on narcotics…
Read More“Kill the Refill”: Combating Post-Surgery Opioid Harms and Costs by Attacking a Hidden Villain
A quarter century into the Opioid Crisis in America, nearly every person, family, and community has been touched by the Crisis in some way. Prescription opioids continue to fuel this epidemic, including when patients are introduced to opioids via a key gateway, surgery. Goldfinch Health has supported patients preparing for and recovering from major surgery…
Read MoreThe Case Against Combos
Why leading healthcare providers are turning to oxycodone monotherapy as part of multimodal pain management regimens designed to better treat pain and reduce opioid exposure for patients and families Opioid plus acetaminophen (APAP) combination products—hydrocodone/APAP (Lortab, Norco, Vicodin) and oxycodone/APAP (Percocet)—have been among the most commonly-dispensed medications in America over the last 20 years. Proactive,…
Read MorePreparing for Surgery When You Have a History of Opioid Use Disorder Can Be Challenging; Here’s What You Need to Know
Every patient approaching surgery should be concerned about persistent opioid use, Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), addiction, and leftover prescription medications. One group should have grave concerns—those patients who have a history of Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The Opioid Crisis has now raged on for over two decades. As a result, it is estimated over 20…
Read MoreSurgery & Seniors
Surgery & Seniors: How to avoid the costliest complications in surgery patients over age 65 Nearly everyone has had the unfortunate experience of watching a loved one who is over the age of 65 undergo a surgery—and then never return to the person you once knew. Something has been lost. The toll is significant, both…
Read MoreA Tale of Two Surgeries and a Mystery Solved
The Patient is the Center of Excellence: A Tale of Two Surgeries and a Mystery Solved Several years ago, we learned a story of two patients, two surgeries, two dramatically different outcomes, and one mystery. The first patient underwent a major surgical procedure to remove cancer from her colon. This patient either did her research,…
Read MoreWhy Everyone Needs a Healthcare Navigator
When we buy a new home, prepare a tax return, or face a legal issue, we don’t think twice about finding an expert to help. When facing serious medical procedures, we trust the advice of our neighbor’s cousin and whatever we can find online. Can’t we do better? Especially when it comes to surgery, everyone…
Read MoreMSK care is too expensive (in ways you may not have considered)
MSK. A three-letter abbreviation for musculoskeletal conditions (back, hips, knees, shoulders) that rings in the mind of disability and employee benefits professionals. High-cost claimants. Long leave periods. Productivity diminished. Employees lost. Bills escalated. Lives changed. According to the Integrated Benefits Institute, MSK-related issues lead to: 756k short-term disability claims each year in the US (that’s…
Read MoreTrainwreck-Proofing & Cost Containment in Healthcare
Nearly everyone in employee benefits can immediately think of a case that made cost containment in healthcare impossible. Maybe they call it a high-cost claimant. Or perhaps they think of it as a trainwreck case. Protect your people. Protect your plans with Goldfinch Health. Find out how we make surgery forgettable. The patient faced a…
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