What is cross-continuum care coordination?

Cross-continuum care coordination refers to the systematic management of patient care as it transitions across different settings and providers, ensuring that patients receive comprehensive and cohesive treatment throughout their healthcare journey. This concept recognizes that patients often interact with multiple healthcare entities, such as primary care providers, specialists, rehab facilities, and hospitals. Effective care coordination involves communication and collaboration among these various providers to maintain continuity of care, proper follow-up, medication management, and patient education. By focusing on coordinating care across different stages, this approach aims to improve patient outcomes, enhance the overall quality of care, and reduce the risk of errors or duplicative services.

In contrast, processes focused on billing and insurance claims, methods of coding medical services, and standardizing treatment protocols primarily address administrative aspects or clinical guidelines, rather than the comprehensive management of patient care across different healthcare environments. These aspects are important in their own right, but they do not encompass the holistic, patient-centered focus that defines cross-continuum care coordination.