There’s even an acronym for them: HNHC, which stands for those high-need, high-cost patients who it’s estimated make up only 5% of U.S. patients but account for about 50% of healthcare spending.
And while lots of studies have focused on how to manage these patients, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City decided to take a different approach. They asked the patients themselves how doctors and healthcare systems can best meet their needs and, in the process, cut costs.
The results were published in NEJM Catalyst and offered five solutions for reducing the high healthcare use among this group of patients.