Care Coordination is a patient-centered approach that strives to meet the needs and preferences of individuals while strengthening the caregiving capabilities of service providers. 

Characteristics of Care Coordination include:

• Collaboration between all members of a care team, no matter their specialty, role or location

• Clear communication between all parties involved in a patient’s care, including the patient/patient’s caregiver

• Avoiding unnecessary and/or redundant tests and procedures, which can both improve the care experience and reduce the cost of care

• Assessing all of a patient’s needs – not just their immediate clinical needs. Treating the whole person.

While there are certain elements of care coordination that are shared across healthcare environments and patient types, it’s not one-size-fits-all. While working at a top children’s hospital, the leader in charge of their care coordination efforts described it as delivering the right care in the right place at the right time. What’s right for one patient isn’t necessarily right for another, which makes care coordination more of an art than a science.

The type of coordination required depends on a number of factors, including the patient’s level of education; the complexity of their medical condition; their access to resources, including things like stable housing and transportation; and the level of ongoing care that will be required at home.

At some healthcare organizations, certain patients may even be assigned a “care coordinator” to help coordinate care.