Patterns of Collaboration among Health Care and Social Services Providers in Communities with Lower Health Care Utilization and Costs

ObjectiveTo understand how health care providers and social services providers coordinate their work in communities that achieve relatively low health care utilization and costs for older adults. Study SettingSixteen Hospital Service Areas (HSAs) in the United States. Study DesignWe conducted a qualitative study of HSAs with performance in the top or bottom quartiles nationally across three key outcomes: ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations, all-cause risk-standardized readmission rates, and average reimbursements per Medicare beneficiary. We selected 10 higher performing HSAs and six lower performing HSAs for inclusion in the study. Data CollectionTo understand patterns of collaboration in each community, we conducted site visits and in-depth interviews with a total of 245 representatives of health care organizations, social service agencies, and local government bodies. Principal FindingsOrganizations in higher performing communities regularly worked together to identify challenges faced by older adults in their areas and responded through collective actionin some cases, through relatively unstructured coalitions, and in other cases, through more hierarchical configurations. Further, hospitals in higher performing communities routinely matched patients with needed social services. ConclusionsThe collaborative approaches used by higher performing communities, if spread, may be able to improve outcomes elsewhere.