Delivering Disease Management to Medically Underserved Populations Plus 21 Strategies for Making and Keeping Contact with Hard-to-Reach Clients

Economic barriers, cultural and/or linguistic access barriers to primary medical care services and a growing number of un- and underinsured are swelling the ranks of the medically underserved. Successful and ongoing delivery of healthcare to these individuals can be hindered by their outdated contact information, chronic disease exacerbated by mental illness and frequently transient nature. However, many organizations are rising to these challenges, employing novel methods to make contact with Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries, the categorically needy and others and engage them in successful disease management (DM) programs. Their success stories, suggestions and lessons learned are contained in this 46-page special report, "Delivering Disease Management to Medically Underserved Populations Plus 21 Strategies for Making and Keeping Contact with Hard-to-Reach Clients." Against a backdrop of DM initiatives for the medically underserved in place at APS Healthcare, Vermont Health Access and Horizon NJ Health, there are also 21 concrete strategies for the identification and engagement of elusive clients and patients.