In 2023, Charles River Community Health will celebrate its 20th anniversary. When we first opened our doors in 1993, we had no idea how impactful our organization would become. Now, in this extremely competitive and changing health care environment, I feel compelled to take stock of the future ́s challenges and opportunities. First of all, I see the specter of a coming recession looming on the horizon. With an aging population, our needs for home-based care are going to increase dramatically just as elder-care providers become more scarce.
This could pose a serious challenge to our ability to support older adults in their own homes. As community health providers, we place a high value on home-based care. Yet, for several reasons, including cost and availability/accessibility, many patients are unable to receive it at home. A rising economic tide can also raise healthcare costs by forcing some providers out of business while others have to raise rates beyond current levels. However, contrary to popular opinion, there is not much that Medicare can do about rising costs.
What is Charles River Community Health?
Charles River Community Health encompasses all of the primary care, administrative and related activities of the Charles River Association. Founded in 1993 as a non-profit agency, we provide acute and chronic care to patients through fixed-fee contracts with local hospitals (and care facilities) and direct primary care. We currently have over 12,000 patients enrolled in our programs.
Why is CRCH starting to publish a newsletter?
To increase our visibility and establish credibility in the market, we are launching this newsletter. It is the first of several newsletters we plan on producing during the upcoming year. Our initial newsletter will focus on our organization ́s strengths and history. Future newsletters will focus on specific health-related concerns and ensuring access to quality, affordable care for all Americans regardless of economic status. In addition, we plan on publishing an annual narrative describing our growth and activities in more detail.
What is the goal of this newsletter?
Our objective is to increase our visibility as an organization by providing a concise, journalistic account of our accomplishments and strategies to achieve our goals. In addition, we hope this newsletter will serve as a valuable resource for patients and physicians, who may be interested in learning more about an effective and efficient health system. We will also attempt to address the concerns of physicians in their roles as primary care clinicians. By highlighting the positive changes that have occurred since 1993 we hope we can counter the negative "propaganda" regarding health care reforms currently being put out by both sides of the political spectrum.
Is Charles River an HMO?
No. We are a direct primary care healthcare organization, which means that we do not contract with insurance companies, but rather directly contract with patients to provide them with all of their health care needs.
What types of services does CRCH offer?
Our practice provides both acute and chronic care to our patients. Our insurance company contracts allow us to provide a full range of acute primary care services as well as chronic disease management for both Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries on a fee-for-service basis. We also offer natural wellness programs, including individualized exercise and nutritional counseling as well as stress management seminars and free blood pressure screenings at local community events throughout the year.
Conclusion
Achieving a meaningful, comprehensive reform of the US healthcare system will be no small task. In fact, it is an ambitious undertaking that will require a far-reaching and innovative strategy on the part of all parties involved. Although health care legislation has stalled in Congress, I believe reform is still possible. There are some lawmakers who have shown considerable foresight and have begun to develop viable strategies to overhaul the entire health care delivery system. As providers, our job will be to offer physicians creative solutions based on both their professional experiences as well as our organizational expertise.
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