The 'Total Patient Care Delivery Model': The Genius Framework That's Helping Home Care Agencies Take Market Share From Competitors
The 'Total Patient Care Delivery Model': The Genius Framework That's Helping Home Care Agencies Take Market Share From Competitors
In a market where most home care agencies look identical to referral sources, one framework is helping forward-thinking agencies capture significant market share from competitors. It's called the Total Patient Care Delivery Model, and it's changing how top agencies position themselves with hospitals, physicians, and other referral partners.
The best part? You can start implementing this framework immediately – even if you don't change anything about your actual services.
The Problem With Traditional Home Care Positioning
Before we dive into the framework, let's identify why traditional home care positioning fails to resonate with medical referral sources:
Service-Centered vs. Outcome-Centered: Most agencies talk about what they do (bathing, meal prep, medication reminders) rather than the outcomes they help achieve.
Isolated vs. Integrated: Most agencies position themselves as standalone service providers rather than integrated partners in the care continuum.
Generic vs. Condition-Specific: Most agencies present general services rather than specialized approaches for specific medical conditions.
The Total Patient Care Delivery Model flips each of these traditional approaches on its head.
The Total Patient Care Delivery Model Explained
At its core, the Total Patient Care Delivery Model is a framework for positioning your agency as an extension of medical treatment plans rather than a separate service. Here's how it works:
Step 1: Understand the Full Continuum
First, map out the complete care journey for specific patient types, including:
Hospital care
Home health (if applicable)
Physician follow-up
Therapy regimens
Medication management
Nutritional requirements/ Social determinants of health
Hospice care (if applicable)
For example, instead of generically understanding "senior care," you would map the specific journey of a heart failure patient from hospital discharge through recovery.
Step 2: Identify Transition Gaps
Next, identify the specific gaps where patients typically struggle during transitions:
Medication adherence failures
Missed follow-up appointments
Poor nutrition compliance
Therapy exercise non-adherence
Environmental safety hazards
"This step was eye-opening," reports Michael, a home care agency owner. "When we mapped out specific patient journeys, we identified gaps we had never explicitly addressed before."
Step 3: Position Your Services as Gap Solutions
This is where the magic happens. You reframe your existing services specifically as solutions to these transition gaps:
Instead of saying: "We provide medication reminders." You say: "We implement the medication adherence portion of your treatment plan between your medical visits."
Instead of saying: "We help with meals." You say: "We ensure nutritional continuity for your CHF patients by preparing low-sodium meals that support your treatment goals."
Instead of saying: "We provide transportation." You say: "We close the follow-up gap by ensuring patients make all scheduled appointments with their healthcare providers."
The Framework in Action: Real Examples
Here's how agencies are implementing this framework in different healthcare settings:
Hospital Discharge Planners
Traditional Approach: "We provide home care services for patients who need help after discharge."
Total Patient Care Approach: "We extend your discharge care plan into the home environment, ensuring continuity of care during the critical 30-day post-discharge period. Our specialized protocols for CHF, COPD, and post-surgical patients directly support your readmission reduction initiatives."
Result: One agency using this approach saw hospital referrals increase by 51%
Physician Offices
Traditional Approach: "We help seniors with daily activities and companionship."
Total Patient Care Approach: "We serve as your eyes and ears in the patient's home between office visits. Our caregivers are trained to monitor and document key indicators specific to each condition, allowing for early intervention before complications develop."
Result: An agency implementing this approach with neurologists saw their physician referrals double within 90 days.
Home Health Agencies
Traditional Approach: "We can provide additional help that Medicare doesn't cover."
Total Patient Care Approach: "We amplify your skilled interventions by ensuring patients correctly implement your care plan between visits. Our caregivers reinforce your therapy instructions, medication adherence, and nutrition guidelines to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction scores."
Result: One agency using this approach report 40%+ increase in home health partnership referrals.
Implementation Steps You Can Take Today
You can begin implementing the Total Patient Care Delivery Model immediately with these steps:
1. Choose One Condition to Focus On
Start with just one condition that's common in your market (heart failure, COPD, stroke recovery, etc.). Research the specific care journey and treatment challenges for this condition.
2. Create a One-Page "Total Care" Sheet
Develop a simple one-page document that shows:
The patient's journey from hospital to home with a specific condition
Common gaps in care during transitions
How your services specifically address these gaps
Outcomes you help achieve for this specific condition
3. Reframe Your Next Three Sales Conversations
In your next three sales conversations, deliberately practice talking about your services in terms of:
Extending the medical treatment plan in a non medical way.
Ensuring continuity between medical visits
Supporting specific clinical outcomes
Beyond DIY: The Complete Framework System
While you can begin implementing this framework on your own, developing comprehensive materials and training your entire team requires significant time and expertise.
The RoadMap to Referrals program has done this work for you, providing:
Complete Total Patient Care frameworks for 18 different medical conditions
Professional handouts that illustrate your role in the care continuum
Scripts that help you position your services within the medical model
Weekly educational topics that reinforce your integrated approach
"The framework completely changed how referral sources perceive us," says Jen, whose agency implemented the Total Patient Care approach through the RoadMap program. "We're no longer just 'the home care agency' – we're an integral part of their treatment strategy."
The Competitive Advantage
In markets where this framework has been implemented, agencies report:
25-40% increase in referrals from existing sources
Higher conversion rates from new referral opportunities
Longer average length of stay for clients
Reduced price sensitivity from both referral sources and families
"We're not just getting more referrals – we're getting better referrals," explains Robert, whose agency has increased average client retention by 27% since implementing the framework. "When you're positioned as part of the treatment plan rather than just an optional service, clients stay longer and see more value in what you provide."
Implement This Framework Today
I encourage you to begin implementing the Total Patient Care Delivery Model in your very next educational sales conversation. Even small shifts in how you position your services can yield immediate improvements in how referral sources respond.
But if you're serious about maximizing your market position, don't stop with just one framework. The RoadMap to Referrals program gives you a complete system for positioning your agency as an essential component of the healthcare continuum – not just another home care option.
Ready to upgrade how referral sources perceive your agency? Schedule a free strategy call today or click here to get immediate access to the complete RoadMap to Referrals system.
Leading with Heart and winning with strategy!
Melanie
P.S. This positioning framework is just one of many strategies included in the RoadMap to Referrals program. Imagine having an entire system of proven approaches that consistently generate referrals while positioning your agency above the competition!
