For patients and doctors, it pays to make appointments shortly after patients are hospitalized due to chronic conditions, as it reduces the chances for future readmissions - although it hasn’t paid off in terms of dollars and cents.

Until this year in Camden, that is, when an effort that rewards both doctors and their patients for making quick follow-up appointments is swiftly yielding good results.

The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers is paying doctors directly when they see patients within a week of a hospitalization. The coalition does this with funding through its Medicaid Accountable Care Organization – a new kind of healthcare-delivery arrangement that launched statewide this year and is aimed at broadly improving the health of residents in low-income areas.

The coalition’s effort, led by Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, is gaining the attention of healthcare leaders around the state, since the organization has a track record of initiatives that are copied in other communities and states.

Not only has it made quick progress on getting patients connected with primary-care providers, but it’s also making advances in connecting chronically ill patients with permanent housing and with behavioral health services to treat the mental illnesses and addictions that frequently accompany chronic diseases like diabetes and congestive heart failure. And it’s connecting its data system – known nationally for its use in “hotspotting,” or targeting healthcare where it’s most needed – to local law-enforcement agencies and school systems with the aim of further improving residents’ health.

To continue reading about the progressive health initiative, please visit the following link:http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/10/19/seven-day-pledge-shows-results-for-innovative-coalition-in-camden/