Care For the Whole Person, For Those Who Need it Most

Guided Care® is a new solution to the growing challenge of caring for older adults with chronic conditions and complex health needs. A Guided Care Nurse, based in a primary care office, works with patients and their families to improve their quality of life and make more efficient use of health services. The nurse assesses patient needs, monitors conditions, educates and empowers the patient, and works with community agencies to ensure that the patient’s healthcare goals are met.

In a pilot study, patients who received Guided Care rated their quality of care significantly higher than usual care patients. The average insurance costs for Guided Care patients were 25% lower over a six month period. The program is currently being tested at eight primary care sites in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area in a randomized trial involving over 900 patients, 300 caregivers, and 48 primary care physicians. Click here for a summary of pilot outcomes and preliminary data from the trial.

Guided Care is the winner of the American Public Health Association's 2008 Archstone Foundation Award for Excellence in Program Innovation, which recognizes a innovative care model for older Americans each year. Guided Care also won the 2009 Medical Economics Award for Innovation in Practice Improvement cosponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Society of Teachers of Familiy Medicine, and Medical Economics magazine. Guided Care was a finalist for the British Medical Journal's 2010 Getting Research into Practice Award. The Guided Care Program at Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States won the 2010 Case In Point Platinum Award for Case Management Provider Program.

A book titled "Guided Care: A New Nurse-Physician Partnership in Chronic Care" serves as an implementation manual for practices that want to adopt Guided Care. Click here for more information. Another book titled "Transformation: A Family's Guide to Chronic Care, Guided Care, and Hope" by Tom Grundner, Ed.D., describes to chronically ill patients and their families what Guided Care is and how it can help them. For details, click here.

For details about technical assistance on adopting Guided Care plus other assistance for the Medicare Medical Home Demonstration, please visit www.MedHomeInfo.org.

Organizations that wish to use the term "Guided Care" are required to obtain a license from Johns Hopkins University. To request a license, organizations should contact Andrea Doering, Portfolio Director, Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer, or visit "One-Stop Licenses."

Copyright, 2005, The Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved. No distribution or copying of Guided Care materials premitted without express written consent of The Johns Hopkins University. Guided Care® is a registered service mark of The Johns Hopkins University. No use of trademark permitted without express written consent of The Johns Hopkins University.