CareVio’s innovative approach improves quality, reduces hospitalizations, lowers costs

Wilmington, Del., Nov. 5, 2019

Since 2012, ChristianaCare’s nationally recognized care management program has been on the forefront of ChristianaCare’s population health strategy, currently managing more than 100,000 lives and delivering better care at lower costs. As the program takes the next step in ChristianaCare’s journey to provide optimal health and exceptional experience to everyone it serves, the program has changed its name to CareVio, with the tagline Linking Care. Improving Health.

Downloadable:   PHOTOS

The newly named CareVio is a robust information technology platform that harnesses real-time health data from all available sources. It uses a prediction analytics engine to coordinate care, identify populations most at-risk and help prevent the need for hospitalizations and emergency department visits through preventive care and, when appropriate, home care. This novel, data-driven approach to care coordination incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist real-time delivery of services.

CareVio has more than 50 nurse care coordinators, social workers, clinical pharmacists, respiratory therapists and medical directors who connect with people by phone, video, in-person visits, secure texting and e-mail to help them manage their health care.

“CareVio has been transformational in our population health strategy to connect patients with the help they need,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, ChristianaCare president and CEO. “Our focus is on delivering health, not just health care. Through this powerful combination of advanced technology and the human touch, we partner with the people we serve to help them achieve their health goals in ways that they value.”

The name CareVio combines the word “care” with the syllable “vio,” from the Latin for road or pathway. It conveys the service’s unique approach to helping people get on the right track to optimal health.

The tagline – Linking Care. Improving Health. – underscores CareVio’s commitment to connect patients with the right care, at the right time, at the right place, addressing the full spectrum of health needs, including physical, social and behavioral health. This includes non-medical needs that can impact health, such as food security, housing, education and transportation.

“The success of our care management program stems from a culture at ChristianaCare that places the patient and their family at the center of all we do,” said Sharon Anderson, RN, BSN, MS, CareVio president and ChristianaCare’s chief virtual health officer. “CareVio partners with patients and their primary care providers and provides them with the tools, knowledge and support to help them reach their health goals.”

Program highlights include:

• CareVio has helped more than 58,000 members in at-risk populations to transition from the hospital after an inpatient admission or visit to the emergency department. An analysis of these patients found that 76% transitioned to a care provider, with a 34% reduction in readmission within 30 days of leaving the hospital and an estimated cost avoidance of $2.6 million.
• CareVio has received national attention for its success. In 2017, the program earned the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award from the Joint Commission, a major health care accreditation group, and the National Quality Forum, which helps set standards for the industry. CareVio also received the 2017 Stand Up for Patient Safety Management Award for in reducing hospital readmissions by the National Patient Safety Foundation.
• CareVio’s Community Team, a small group of doctors, pharmacists, nurse care coordinators and social workers, focuses on reducing hospital and emergency department use for people who struggle with a combination of social barriers to health and at least one poorly controlled medical diagnosis. Since January 2016, the Community Team alone has assisted more than 900 people, with more than 9,200 personal interventions, achieving a 35% reduction in emergency department use and a 25% reduction in hospital stays – all at an estimated savings of more than $1.1 million.

Background: The CareVio program began in 2012 with a three-year, $10 million grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test alternative payment models and promote the use of technology to improve patient safety, reduce unnecessary visits and assist providers in care coordination. The program initially focused on patients with coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease.

Need an expert source? Our Experts, ChristianaCare's expert database, can help you find the right source for your next news story. Request an interview ➜

About ChristianaCare

Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ChristianaCare is one of the country’s most dynamic health care organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, and innovating to make high-quality care more accessible, equitable and affordable. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of primary care and outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,430 beds), a freestanding emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute.

ChristianaCare is nationally recognized as a great place to work, rated by Forbes as one of the nation’s best employers for diversity and inclusion. ChristianaCare is rated by Newsweek as one of the World’s Best Hospitals and is continually ranked among the best in the U.S. in national quality and safety ratings. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. With its groundbreaking Center for Virtual Health and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.

####