When the University of Alabama at Birmingham launched UAB House Calls through its geriatrics clinic in 2014, it started with just 25 patients. By 2021, after redoubling its focus on home-based care, enrollment surged to more than 300.
But the rapid growth came with the need for more resources. The team turned to HCCI for help. “It saved me because I was the only physician and the medical director, and we didn’t have a formal curriculum,” said UAB’s Marianthe Grammas, MD.
UAB integrated curated content from HCCI’s educational modules into its Learning Management System, HealthStream, and established designated learner pathways for the different disciplines within the team.
According to Jessica Nix, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker with UAB, HCCI offered a much-needed structure. “It provided something we didn’t have to re-create and gave us a baseline to build from,” she said. “We can tailor education to specific interests without having to reinvent the wheel.”
While the team continues to lean into HCCI’s educational offerings, it’s also leveraging Confer Analytics®, a market-intelligence platform for home-centered care organizations.
“We use the market analysis tools and home-based medical care patient demand statistics extensively,” said Jacob Vaughn, Operations Director at UAB. “We also use the performance dashboards to evaluate our metrics—prior to having access to Confer Analytics®, I didn’t realize those were the standardized metrics we should be tracking. It keyed us in on how to objectively measure our performance.”
Vaughn said the data has been instrumental in other ways. “We are also using it to influence discussions with community partners, such as home health agencies and future hospice collaborations,” he said. “Additionally, in our preliminary value-based care contracting conversations with payers, Confer Analytics® data informs the discussions. It is central to the business cases we develop to further our mission.”
“Nationally, many programs are in our position: trying to build the business case for a financially sustainable program that can scale,” Grammas said. “What HCCI has provided is awareness, the narrative structure, and guidance on what data to collect and interpret.”
Vaughn added that the direct advisory support HCCI provides is also vital. “HCCI understands the work and is in the trenches with us,” he said. “Having experts and champions in our corner providing timely insight helps bring our vision to life.”
“Because home care medicine is expanding rapidly without established awareness across broader health systems, having an organization to depend on for guidance is essential,” Grammas said. “Whether updating us on CMS regulations, providing coding webinars, or disseminating recent studies, we rely on HCCI as a source of truth.”