Practice Perspectives on Care Coordination in Rural Settings

Abstract

Purpose: Social needs and nonmedical health determinants are increasingly incorporated into care coordination models. However, little is known about the practice of operationalizing enhanced care coordination, particularly in rural settings. The objective of this study was to determine care coordination practices in rural settings that integrate social services with health care. Primary Practice Settings: Staff and administrators in rural Missouri health and health care settings were interviewed about their organization's implementation of enhanced care coordination practices. Methodology and Sample: This is a mixed-methods study; 16 key informant structured interviews were conducted across 14 organizations. Results: Organizations reported a median care coordination population of 800 (range: 50–21,500) across a median of 11 case managers (range: 3–375). The percentage of organizations reporting social determinants of health services included the following: 100% transportation, 86% mental health, 79% food, 71% housing, and 50% dental. Implementation of the essential indicators of care coordination quality ranged from 41.7% to 100%. We report organizations' innovative solutions to care coordination barriers. Implications for Case Management Practice: This study contributes to a very limited literature on the practice of rural care coordination by assessing the quality of care provided compared with a recommended standard. This study also contributes an in-depth reporting on the variety of service models being implemented. Finally, this study uniquely contributes innovative interprofessional examples of enhanced care coordination initiatives. These examples may provide inspiration for rural health care organizations. As the care coordination landscape evolves to include social determinants of health, there remain important fundamental barriers to ensuring quality of care.