What does it mean to deliver whole-person care?

by Core Solutions on January 8, 2020

As the behavioral health and human services industry has continued to trend toward focusing on people they serve as whole people rather than on their specific health conditions, entirely new sets of challenges have arisen in support of this model. In the delivery of "whole-person care" (WPC), providers take a broader look at a person's health issues, including their mental, emotional and physical health. Read on to learn how the trend toward WPH provides comprehensive care more efficiently.

Value-based care
Value-based care is a paradigm-changing concept that focuses on providing care that has measurable outcomes by developing a treatment plan based upon a person's medical, behavioral, economic and social status. All of these facets, combined, can influence the individual's WPC. This treatment approach is then supported by value-based payments that rely on the results of the outcome measures to demonstrate that progress is being made for the individuals who are receiving treatment.

Physical health vs. mental health
In the past, healthcare professionals often focused merely on the physical aspects of a person, addressing the physical symptoms and physical causes of those symptoms. They neglected the equally important mental health and behavior of their clients.

Most people know what they need to do to be healthy, but failure to do these things can lead to poor health. Behavioral health conditions may explain why they aren't eating healthy, exercising and practicing healthy habits. For example, overeating to deal with depression or abusing drugs and alcohol to cope with depression and anxiety can ultimately cause health problems. But when the medical professional treats the whole person, not only are the physical symptoms investigated, but the anxiety and depression are also explored and treated.

How to treat the whole person
Without whole-person care, treatment becomes fragmented. Treatment should be targeted, but it should also address a client's issues comprehensively. Whole-person care means focusing on the following:

Without whole-person care, treatment becomes fragmented. Treatment should be targeted, but it should also address a client's issues comprehensively. Whole-person care means focusing on the following:

- Thorough treatment plans;
- More common-sense and non-medication treatment approaches;
- Increased client participation and satisfaction;
- Greater efficiency, lowering medical costs; and
- Improvements in long-term health outcomes.

How to use data and EHRs to provide whole-person care

When treating a client, each provider should be able to see data about the conditions affecting each person, not just about the specific symionals across a client's continuum of care in an easily viewed platform, then doctors and nurses, as well as behavioral health providers, will have an all-encompassing view of a client's health. With an enterprise-wide EHR platform and dashboard, providers can expect efficiencies and improved outcomes across the populations that they serve.

If you would like to learn more about how Core's Cx360 platform allows behavioral healthcare organizations to gather, analyze and share client data across one enterprise platform, request a demo of Cx360 today.

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