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Article
The Indispensable Partnership: Physicians and Unpaid Family Caregivers in Dementia Care
In its unflinching report “America’s Unseen Workforce: The State of Family Caregiving,” Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health sheds a stark light on the state of caregiving for people with dementia. Physicians are in a unique position to chart a new course for their patients -- and the loved ones who care for them.
Ceresti can help. To help your dementia patients and their family caregivers access the benefits of the GUIDE model, refer them to Ceresti Health: guide.ceresti.com
Article
Why Dementia Is So Hard for Primary Care—and What Value-Based Leaders Can Do About It
In value-based care, we ask primary care providers to be quarterbacks—responsible for clinical outcomes, cost containment and patient experience. But when it comes to dementia, an important condition that by its nature can be a challenge to diagnose and difficult to manage, we’ve handed them the ball without a playbook.
This article explores the challenges primary care organizations face in managing dementia patients—and some of the solutions available for improving outcomes, lowering costs and reducing risk.
Article
Leveraging the Annual Wellness Visit to Detect Dementia in Your Patient Population
By John Mach, MD.
Many value-based practices emphasize the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) to their patients. The AWV is a great opportunity to improve screening for dementia but it needs to include a specific, standardized screen. This article discusses why screening is so important and how leveraging technology can improve screening during the AWV.
Article
The Value of the Caregiver – Redefining Metrics in Dementia Care
Traditional metrics in dementia care have focused primarily on patient outcomes and clinical efficiencies. But many dementia patients are unable to self-manage their care, rendering traditional outcome measurements inaccurate. As the role of the unpaid/informal family caregiver, typically a spouse or adult child, becomes increasingly recognized as essential, it’s time to redefine our measurement systems. This article explores the importance of developing caregiver-centric metrics that accurately reflect the full spectrum of care.
Article
CMS is Prioritizing Dementia Care—Are ACOs Ready?
ACOs and at-risk providers that embrace GUIDE today will emerge as leaders tomorrow, as CMS accelerates its focus on dementia care. Beyond improving patient outcomes, the right GUIDE partner ensures that ACOs can effectively manage attribution, control medical expenses, and reduce preventable hospitalizations—protecting both their financial performance and their ability to deliver high-quality care.
ACOs should be thinking strategically about how they leverage the benefits of GUIDE on behalf of their dementia patients. While the program promises shared savings through fewer hospitalizations and ED visits, there are risks that a well-prepared partner can help you avoid.
Article
Doing Nothing is Not Free: ACOs and GUIDE
If you lead an accountable care organization (ACO), you’ve likely heard of CMS’s GUIDE (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience) model. It’s an eight-year initiative designed to improve dementia care by integrating family caregivers into the care team. It is also a battle cry for better care. Ignore it at your own peril.
Testimonials
A Once-Lone Advocate Finds Needed Support Through Ceresti
Cracker Boynton has been advocating for her husband, Jeremy, since 2013, when the couple first began to notice Jeremy’s cognitive decline. It took five years before she could convince neurologists to perform a PET scan – which confirmed what they already knew: Jeremy has Alzheimer’s disease.
Cracker has been a tireless advocate for her husband through bouts of depression, decline and anxiety. Not until she discovered Ceresti Health did Cracker feel as though she had a real partner in care.
Breezing through months worth of caregiver education in just weeks, Cracker is an avid proponent for what Ceresti can do to improve the knowledge, skills and confidence of people like her who are caring for loved ones with dementia.
Rethinking Dementia Care: Why Caregivers Hold the Key
Ceresti Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Mach celebrates caregivers' crucial role in dementia management. Highlighting how the healthcare system often misses early changes in the condition of someone living with dementia, Dr. Mach underscores caregivers' role in preventing small medical issues from advancing into dangerous and costly hospitalizations. In this article, Dr. Mach emphasizes how the CMS GUIDE Model now supports caregivers, recognizing their importance in improving outcomes and reducing costs. Ceresti's technology-enabled service, which includes tablets and coaches, empowers caregivers to detect subtle changes, resulting in significant reductions in medical costs and hospitalizations. Read more of his take about how family caregivers are vital for transforming dementia care.