Care Management Services at Alma Family Practice

Alma Family Practice also has two full time RN Care Managers. Care Management offers a variety of services that are available to every patient at Alma Family Practice. The focus of Care Management is patient self-management. This is done through education, collaboration and goal setting. Patients can meet with a Care Manager to learn about a new medication, to learn about a new diagnosis, to locate community resources, or to discuss other concerns they may have. Appointments can be done face to face or over the phone.

Our Care Management team is also responsible for contacting patients after they have been seen in the ER, after discharge from the hospital, short term rehabilitation and nursing homes. They do this to help ensure that our patients are receiving the best care and have access to the best resources around. When a patient has been in the hospital or other facility they are often discharged with new medications that they are not familiar with. Our Care Managers can help answer questions, contact providers and identify additional resources that patients may need.

If you have Medicare, you will be seeing a member of our Care Management team for your Annual Wellness Visit. This is a once a year sit down meeting to review your health information, including preventive care, medications and making sure we are aware of all other health providers you see. Your primary care provider is the hub of your health care. Many patients receive care from specialists in addition to their care at Alma Family Practice. With this appointment we can verify the other providers you see, what medications they manage, and what tests have they ordered. This prevents duplication of care and helps to lower health care costs for both Medicare and the patient.

Additional Care Management services include comprehensive medication management and group education classes. As referenced above, patients can have prescriptions from multiple providers and it can become quite overwhelming. One of our Care Managers can meet with you and your family members to review every medication, its purpose and who you contact for refills. This appointment includes the patient bringing in all of their medication and supplement bottles. This way both the Care Manager and patient can verify each and every medication and supplement in detail, including potential medication interactions. Your provider will then verify all of this information and make any adjustments if needed.

Group education classes are another part of Care Management. They occur on a quarterly basis and can include a guest speaker who is an expert in the topic of discussion. The classes are held during the evening hours and are available to patients and family members at no cost. Please contact the office for a list of current class offerings.