InterProfessional Education Research and Scholarship
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Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
7-12-2024
Abstract
Many patients experiencing homelessness also lack health insurance. These patients are often eligible for federal insurance programs, but lack the resources needed to enroll. Well-meaning clinicians and social workers generally do not have the time or resources to address these disparities. The lack of a centralized process for Medicaid enrollment for patients experiencing homelessness perpetuates adverse health outcomes due to multiple factors. 1) Lack of care: avoidance of seeking health care and minimal preventative care; 2) poor quality care: compared to patients with more resources; 3) lack of follow-up: in part due to unreliable contact information; and 4) “non-adherence”: often due to a lack of financial resources. To mitigate these factors, root causes for adverse outcomes at UNMH were examined and found to include a lack of a centralized process to guide patients in Medicare/ Medicaid enrollment, as well as a lack of clear roles within the care team. Through a quality improvement lens, we propose a patient instruction guide paired with an updated discharge-planning process which includes addressing concerns about insurance status. This process includes specific role delineation within care teams to concomitantly bolster interprofessional collaboration. Overall, this quality improvement project proposes an upstream intervention to prevent adverse health outcomes in under-resourced and uninsured populations experiencing homelessness.
Recommended Citation
Lowe, Annslee J.; Sahana Ummadi; and Riana R. Wurzburger. "Quality Improvement: Supporting Vulnerable Patients in Medicaid Enrollment." (2024). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hsc_ipe_posters/20
Comments
Presented at IPE Day 2024