Waymark, a public benefit company dedicated to improving access and quality of care in Medicaid, today published a peer-reviewed study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Catalyst evaluating the impact of its early intervention model in its first year of service. The study found that Waymark's community-based early interventions significantly reduced hospital and emergency department (ED) visits and improved both patient goal completion and care quality in 2023. In this large prospective study, researchers assessed outcomes from Waymark's early interventions for 64,278 patients covered by two Medicaid health plans and assigned to 2,298 primary care providers (PCPs) spanning multiple practices in the states of Washington and Virginia.
Waymark partners with PCPs to provide additional clinical and social support for their rising-risk patients outside of the clinic. This population is often disconnected from primary care and experiences escalating and unmanaged medical, behavioral, and social needs-;leading to increased ED visits and hospitalizations. Waymark combines community-based care teams and predictive technologies to connect rising-risk patients with primary preventive care before they become high-cost claimants for Medicaid programs.
Key findings from the study include: Reduced ED and hospital visits: 22.9% reduction in all-cause ED and hospital visits, including a 20.4% reduction in avoidable 1 ED visits and 48.
3% reduction in avoidable hospitalizations for ri.
