Bluestem Health’s Integrated Healthcare Approach

When it comes to integrated healthcare, Bluestem Health has years of expertise leading in patient care. By offering a more collaborative approach, we are able to work together as providers and patients to ensure you are receiving the best care. With five different Bluestem Health clinics, and the ability to communicate and work closely with Behavioral Health, Family Medicine, and Dental providers, you’ll receive care that is a result of a true team effort.

What is Integrated Healthcare?

Integrated healthcare can come off as a confusing phrase. You might be wondering, “How is it different from care I may receive somewhere else?” Integrated healthcare, often referred to as interprofessional healthcare, means that all of our doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, therapists, and other healthcare professionals work together when it comes to your physical and mental health.

This level of collaboration and communication among health professionals guarantees that your health will be looked at as a whole, rather than focusing on one aspect of it. Your mental health affects your physical health, and your physical health affects your mental health. This is why integrated healthcare is different. With your medical team communicating and working together on your behalf, the care you’ll be given will be exceptional. It will allow us to consider all the factors and see things from all angles, leaving you with an accurate diagnosis and a personalized treatment plan.

Why Integrated Healthcare is Important

Integrated healthcare is vital to providing care that supports your overall well-being. By focusing on medical, behavioral, and dental health as a whole, and how all of these aspects play a part in affecting your health, we are able to give you high-quality care. Here are some examples of why integrated healthcare is so important.

Improves quality of care

The quality of the care you receive at Bluestem Health is important to us, and our mission is to always provide you with compassionate, attentive, and coordinated care. Integrated healthcare helps support that mission. Better patient engagement and communication is a result of integrated healthcare, and ensures that patients receive information about their care from all providers involved in their treatment. This can help patients better understand their health conditions and treatment options, and therefore make more informed decisions regarding their health.

Lowers healthcare costs

Integrated healthcare can lower healthcare costs in several ways. 

• Sharing patient information among healthcare professionals can help reduce appointments and prevent possible duplications of tests.
• With the high degree of collaboration, patients may also receive a medical diagnosis faster, preventing avoidable hospitalizations, reducing healthcare costs.
• Integrated healthcare can help improve the management of chronic conditions by ensuring that patients are cared for in a timely manner.
• Because multiple healthcare providers are working together, this can lead to receiving the right care at the right time, in the most appropriate setting.

Integrated healthcare promotes more efficient use of healthcare resources, benefitting not only your health, but your wallet as well.

Enhances access to services

With our integrated healthcare model, Bluestem Health’s patients can be referred to other specialists within the organization more quickly. For example, if a patient is being seen by their family medicine doctor who determines that person may benefit from seeing another provider for additional services, an appointment can be set up very easily. Integrated healthcare can help ensure that patients receive timely and appropriate care for their health conditions. This can help prevent delays in care, which can be a barrier to accessing services. Having an entire team of healthcare professionals working together to provide you with answers and the best care possible enhances your access to services tremendously. We even offer Telehealth services for people who live in rural or remote areas, have mobility issues, or limited access to transportation.

Schedule an Appointment at Bluestem Health

Collaboration among doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, therapists, and other healthcare professionals provides better outcomes for patients. Our patients are at the center of the healthcare experience, and we want you to feel that way every time you step into a Bluestem Health facility. Schedule an appointment at one of our five clinics by calling (402) 476-1455.