The Client
Baltimore Mobile Integrated Health (MIH)
The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD), University of Maryland Medical Center, the City of Baltimore, and University of Maryland, Baltimore have partnered to launch a new healthcare delivery model for selected areas of Baltimore City. This innovative community-based program will support the health of individuals through a comprehensive, free, multidisciplinary care model for patients, which provides care outside the hospital setting and is designed to reduce health disparities, decrease emergency department visits, and prevent hospital readmissions.
Mobile Integrated Health’s (MIH) Minor Definitive Care Now (MDCN) is a program that supports low acuity patients who call 911 for EMS evaluation and transport. Within the MIH catchment area, the MDCN team, consisting of an advanced level provider (ALP) and a CP, monitors and responds to these calls in a dedicated, medically equipped vehicle at the same time as emergency BCFD providers. The patient is screened by the MDCN team, and if appropriate and agreeable to the patient, then treated at the scene. The 911 unit is released back in service, available for the next emergency in West Baltimore. The primary objective of the MDCN program is to reduce Emergency Department (ED) visits.
The Problem
MDCN was experiencing limitations in their operations that resulted in lower-than-desired enrollment volumes. The MIH-MDCN program was considering ways to increase the utilization of the program by:
- Adding a vehicle
- Adding a shift
- Expanding the catchment area
The end goal was to increase enrollment to achieve a positive return on investment in the MDCN program.