How Sollis Health is Redefining the Future of Aftercare in Urgent Care and Emergency Rooms
From urgent care to complete care, we bridge the aftercare gap.
Table of Contents:
· The Urgent Need for Better Aftercare
· Why Aftercare Matters
· Elevating Patient Care: Sollis Health’s Innovative Aftercare Model
· The Future of Aftercare
The Urgent Need for Better Aftercare
Imagine walking out of an emergency room or an urgent care facility, clutching discharge papers in one hand and a prescription slip in the other. There’s an initial sigh of relief that the immediate danger or discomfort has been addressed. However, the moment you get home, a cloud of uncertainty engulfs you. What are the next steps? How do you coordinate between specialists? What if you have questions about your medication, or what signs indicate that you need to seek further help?
In the current American healthcare system, the emergency room and urgent care visits often serve as transactional touchpoints rather than integral parts of a comprehensive healthcare journey. Once you’ve received immediate attention for your medical issue and you’ve been discharged, the system essentially washes its hands of you. You‘re then left to fend for yourself, navigating the labyrinthine world of follow-up appointments, prescription refills, and various therapies.
God forbid a question or concern arises once you’re home — perhaps you’re unsure about the side effects of a new medication or you’re experiencing a symptom that wasn’t discussed during your visit — you find yourself stranded without a lifeline. Do you seek another costly urgent care visit or wait for hours in the ER again. Your last resort? Phoning that one cousin who took a first aid course that one time and is now the unofficial family “medical expert.”
Most disheartening of all is that the healthcare system seems to think this is acceptable, leaving patients to bear the burden of gaps in care and information. This piecemeal strategy does more harm than good; it not only undermines effective patient recovery but also magnifies systemic flaws in healthcare. The result? Poorer health outcomes, more revolving-door visits to the ER, and a fatter medical bill to boot.
It’s a scenario all too familiar to many, reinforcing a subpar status quo that patients have sadly come to expect. However, the question must be asked: if patients know they’re getting the short end of the stick, isn’t it time the system acknowledged this as well and took steps to improve?
This is the gap that good aftercare aims to bridge. The focus on aftercare transforms this disorienting post-visit period into a guided journey towards full recovery, ensuring that each patient’s healthcare experience is comprehensive, coordinated, and above all, focused their long-term well-being.
Why Aftercare Matters
As a Physician Associate (PA) with over 15 years of experience in the U.S. healthcare system, I’ve had the unique opportunity to witness the challenges and gaps in healthcare from multiple perspectives. Starting my career as a unit secretary in the ER, I advanced to an ER Patient Care Technician and ultimately became a licensed PA-C in New York. This journey has not only given me a comprehensive understanding of both clinical and administrative aspects of healthcare but also fueled my passion for innovation in the healthcare space.
This passion led me to play a pivotal role of Sollis Health’s groundbreaking aftercare team during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mission was clear-cut but ambitious: ensure comprehensive follow-up care for every patient who came to us. We developed a robust protocol that integrated meticulous medication management, consistent remote monitoring, and seamless care coordination. The effectiveness of the approach was evident: the rates for hospitalizations and deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly lower than New York City’s average at the time. This success wasn’t just a milestone for our team; it was a testament to the transformative power of well-executed aftercare.
Elevating Patient Care: Sollis Health’s Innovative Aftercare Model
In today’s fast-paced healthcare landscape, the focus often remains on immediate treatment, sometimes overlooking the critical phase of aftercare. When we began the journey in aftercare at Sollis Health, the goal was to redefine the standards of patient care through our comprehensive and forward-thinking aftercare model. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals, urgent care centers, and health clinics were beyond overwhelmed with patients. The objective was to alleviate the strain on these local resources and encourage patients to recover fully while isolating at home. I initially had reservations about the frequency of our outreach. I recall wondering, ‘Would our patients find it intrusive if we contacted them so frequently?’ My concerns were quickly dispelled.
Designed to offer more than just a routine follow-up, the approach is a multi-faceted program that prioritizes personalized care, seamless coordination, and real-time adaptability. Something that is very unique in today’s healthcare landscape.
Based on the positive outcomes we’ve observed, I’m eager to share my key insights that distinguish Sollis Health’s aftercare model from traditional healthcare services. My hope is that these takeaways can inspire and guide others in adopting similar approaches to elevate patient care.
Personalized Follow up
In traditional healthcare settings, post-visit communication, if it happens at all, often falls short, limited to automated phone calls and impersonal follow-up emails. At Sollis Health, we are committed to shattering this status quo by offering a level of personalized attention that caters to each patient’s unique needs. The proactive approach involves regular check-ins to monitor medication efficacy, manage side effects, and track the healing process. We don’t just administer treatment; we take responsibility for every patients’ improvement.
To further revolutionize the aftercare experience, we’ve sought inspiration from an unexpected source — the hospitality industry. Specifically, we’ve partnered with experts from the Ritz Carlton to train the clinicians and staff. The objective? To transcend the conventional standards of patient care and deliver an experience that is nothing short of exceptional. Anyone who has stayed at a Ritz Carlton knows the level of personalized service they offer. Their mission is to know each guest so well that future visits are greeted with your preferred beverage, crafted exactly to your liking — be it a Coke with ice and a splash of lime, garnished with a wedge.
By integrating this ethos of personalized service into healthcare, it redefines the patient experience. When the care team reaches out for a check-in, it’s far from a mere formality. They come equipped with comprehensive knowledge of your medical history, treatment plans, and personal preferences. This ensures not only the effectiveness of your medications but also minimizes side effects and optimizes your healing journey — all meticulously tailored.
The Impact
This individualized approach serves a dual purpose: it not only elevates patient satisfaction and retention rates but also enhances medical outcomes. When patients feel that their care plan is customized to their unique needs, they are more inclined to adhere to it, resulting in expedited recoveries and minimized complications. As it turns out, patients genuinely value follow-up messages from their healthcare providers to assess the effectiveness of their treatment — go figure!
Seamless Care Coordination
Sollis Health engages in a collaborative approach with members’ healthcare teams, including primary care providers, specialists, and family members, to ensure a seamless continuum of care. This vigilant coordination safeguards against the loss of crucial medical information that could otherwise fall through the cracks.
In many traditional healthcare settings, primary care providers are often left in the dark about their patients’ ER visits, hindering effective follow-up care. Recognizing the importance of keeping all stakeholders informed, we make it a priority to loop in primary care providers at every stage. This level of communication is not only appreciated by these providers but also fosters a sense of trust. As a result, they are more likely to refer additional patients to us, confident in the knowledge that we will maintain open lines of communication for optimal patient care
The Impact
Effective coordination prevents information gaps and ensures that all healthcare providers are on the same page, leading to better patient outcomes and reduced chances of patients overflowing to other health centers.
Centralized Aftercare Team
At Sollis Health, we’ve implemented a centralized team approach to aftercare, ensuring that a dedicated group of healthcare professionals is responsible for each patient’s post-visit journey. This team comprises clinicians, care coordinators, and administrative staff who work in unison to provide a cohesive and streamlined healthcare experience. In the centralized team approach, patients experience a unified, cohesive healthcare journey that is marked by efficiency, accountability, and personalized care.
The Impact
The centralized team approach streamlines patient care and decision-making, in stark contrast to the fragmented experience often seen with individual provider follow-ups. This model not only improves care quality and speed but also lessens the risk of provider burnout by distributing responsibilities among a dedicated team. Ultimately, the approach enhances resource utilization, minimizing the inefficiencies often associated with traditional aftercare models reliant on individual providers.
24/7 Patient Support
Understanding that medical emergencies don’t conform to a 9-to-5 schedule, it was vital we offered 24/7 accessibility. This ensures that patients can reach qualified healthcare professionals at any hour, filling a critical gap left by traditional urgent care centers, which often operate within restricted time frames. When it comes to Emergency Departments, the concept of ‘patient support’ is conspicuously absent. Drawing from my experience as a retired ER unit secretary, I can attest that the role is both complex and demanding. However, it’s unfortunate that patient support rarely figures into the equation.
The Impact
This 24/7 availability is a proactive measure designed to catch medical concerns in their nascent stages. By ensuring that expert advice is always just a message away, we create an environment where minor issues can be promptly identified and addressed, reducing the likelihood of their escalating into major complications.
The Future of Aftercare
At Sollis Health, we’ve consistently challenged conventional norms to enhance healthcare delivery for patients. While we recognize our role as a small entity within a vast healthcare ecosystem, our impact has been significant.
Understanding that a Sollis Health membership is a privilege, I believe this innovative approach to aftercare is something that the broader healthcare system desperately needs. The key to improving healthcare outcomes lies in the continuity and follow-through of care, a principle that echoes the groundbreaking work of the late Dr. Paul Farmer.
Dr. Farmer, a renowned physician and anthropologist, co-founded Partners In Health (PIH) and was a pioneer in global healthcare. He emphasized the necessity of extending healthcare services beyond clinic walls and into the communities where people reside. According to Farmer, community-based care is not only feasible but also more effective, as it fosters a more holistic and continuous healthcare experience.
As we stand on the cusp of a new digital health era, Dr. Farmer’s vision feels more attainable than ever. Advances in technology now allow us to deliver healthcare in unprecedented ways. This technological prowess can be harnessed by healthcare providers to offer treatment exactly where patients prefer — within the comfort of their homes and communities.
By integrating these principles and innovations, the future of aftercare can be more accessible, effective, and humane for all.
Learn More About the Author
Michael Rubio PA-C
The author is an experienced clinician committed to innovating patient care. Co-founder of an innovative patient service platform designed to enhance communication between healthcare providers and patients, serving as a natural extension of the commitment to reduce administrative burdens and elevate the quality of healthcare delivery across the board. Learn more here.
Keywords: Sollis Health, Aftercare Model, Urgent Care, Emergency Rooms, Personalized Care Plans, 24/7 Accessibility, Seamless Care Coordination, Data-Driven Approach, Medication Management, Follow-Up Appointments, Ongoing Education.