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ECOS Health Mapping Bundle: Eco-Map Brief

Name
Institution
Date
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Eco-Map Brief
Briefing Point 1: Ecosystem Entities
Ecosystem Profile- Personalized Healthcare Scenario
Name: Olunike Akinmolayemi
Title: Patient Service Manager
Primary Healthcare Setting: Urgent Care Center
Organization Name: Sacred Heart Medical Center
BIP: Joint Venture
BPI Sub-Industry: Qlarant, Health Tech Company
Healthcare setting goal and value proposition: To utilize the benefits of working with
Qlarant to facilitate technological upgrades at Sacred Heart Medical Center to increase
operational efficiency, and improve patient care and satisfaction, at affordable costs by
ensuring operations align with the overall goal of ECOS Health System. The
technological upgrade will go towards promoting preventive care, improving care
coordination, and reducing wastage through remote care by reaching underserved
communities and providing them with quality and affordable care. The success of this
project will guarantee effective alignment of all stakeholder interests, promote strategic
partnership, and open up opportunities for scalability and growth that can be used as a
model for other healthcare ecosystems.
External Healthcare Entities and Business Partners
PharmaCare Bedford Road
PharmaCare Bedford Road is a pharmacy located in Cumberland, MD. As a pharmacy, it
specializes in using, storage, preservation, and preservation of medicine. PharmaCare
specializes in immunizations, medication therapy management and synchronization, and
expert care. Although Sacred Heart Medical Center also offers vaccination, working with
an external pharmacy would help improve preventive care, especially in case of an
outbreak. Studies by IQVIA (2023) show that during the pandemic, pharmacists in the
country administered more vaccinations than physicians. Given that Pharmacare is
dedicated to the well-being of the community, having patients get vaccinations during
critical seasons will help promote preventive care, which is one of the goals of ecosystem
design.
Lukas Behavioral Health LLC
Lukas Behavioral Health LLC is a behavioral health center in Cumberland, MD. The
American Medical Association (2022) defines behavioral health services as care
dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions and
substance abuse. With the joint venture with Qlarant, Sacred Heart Medical Center
targets to expand to providing behavioral health services given the situation in the region.
According to the most recent reports from the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
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(2023) and Western Maryland Health System and Allegany County Health Department
(2017), Allegany is struggling with behavioral health, with higher averages of substance
abuse than the state and national averages. The facility can use its wellness program and
work closely with Sacred Heart to ensure early diagnosis and help improve access
remotely.
GMC Home Healthcare
GMC Home Healthcare is a home health agency with various locations in Maryland.
Home health agencies provide skilled nursing and therapeutic care to patients in their
residences. Their services are essential for patients discharged after receiving critical care
or older adults unwilling to be admitted to residential long-term care facilities. GMC
Home Healthcare will be essential for the ecosystem design in improving care
coordination by extending care to the patients in their homes and collaborating with
Sacred Heart Medical Center providers. By collaborating with Sacred Heart, they can
utilize remote care services provided by Qlarant through the joint to help patients manage
their health conditions and improve health outcomes.
External Business partner, Uber
Uber is a transport company that provides taxi services to customers hailing on their
phones. With the new private entrants into the healthcare market, traditional healthcare
systems, including urgent care centers, are being pushed out despite being the cornerstone
of the industry (Zimlichman et al., 2021). This has forced healthcare organizations to
partner with nontraditional and non-healthcare partners, such as Uber, to meet the
growing patient needs. Partnering with Uber will enable ecosystem design to avoid
disruption caused by the new entrants and focus on the triple aim for the community.
With Uber Health, the partnership can leverage the hailing power of the company to
facilitate the transportation of patients and staff.

Briefing Point 2. Ecosystem Profile- Care Population

Population Characteristics
Demographic
According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2020), the demographic population as are as
follows
 Largely elderly population, over 20 percent.
 Less racial diversity, with the white population making 88.3 percent.
 Lower household income at $51,090, with 16.4 percent of the population living in
poverty.
 Higher levels of unemployment than state and national averages at 6.4 percent.
Psychographic
 More than 22 percent of smoke cigarettes.
 Lower physical activity than state and national averages.
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Health Status
 Most cases visiting the ED are heart disease and diabetes patients.
 High rates of obesity, especially among adolescents (Allegany County Health
Department, 2017).
 Mental health issues with the resident recording more numbers of poor mental health
days than state averages.
Healthcare Needs
 Healthcare education- The high rates of smoking and obesity indicate that the
population needs behavioral health education. This can be facilitated by Lukas
Behavioral Health LLC, which can provide the residents with health education on
recovery and counseling and provide lifestyle programs. Health education will also be
useful for caregivers taking care of their family members dealing with chronic
illnesses. In cases where patients are referred to the pharmacy, PharmaCare Bedford
Road can also provide health education on instructions and adherence.
 Terminal care- According to the most recent Allegany County Health Department
(2017) annual report, the most common chronic illnesses are heart disease and
diabetes. Facilitated by GMC Home Healthcare, Sacred Heart can ensure ill patients
receive terminal care.
 Disease prevention- With most of the Allegany residents being 65 years and above
and with lower income, it becomes the responsibility of the urgent care center to help
them prevent diseases, especially in outbreaks. PharmaCare can be effective in
disease prevention through mass vaccination.

Briefing Point 3. Essential Services to Care Population

Personalized Healthcare Scenario
Sacred Heart Medical Center will provide preventive services while working with Lukas
Behavioral Health LLC to identify and mitigate the main health risk arising from
smoking. The two can facilitate health education and smoke cessation programs to help
the community manage substance abuse.
As Sacred Heart Medical Center advances its services remotely through Qlarant, it can
work with GMC Home Healthcare to provide chronic disease management. Research
(Mastoris et al., 2023) shows that remote care was more effective and safe for delivering
care to patients with heart failure during the pandemic. Even without the pandemic, it can
be challenging for heart disease and diabetes patients to make frequent visits to
healthcare facilities for monitoring. With remote care, Sacred Heart can liaise with the
home health agency to ensure the patients make their appointments and monitor their
symptoms.
External Healthcare Entities and Business Partner
PharmaCare Bedford Road’s most essential service in the ecosystem design will be
vaccination. Pharmacists’ role was proved indispensable during the pandemic, especially
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in supporting primary care and reducing the burden on the healthcare system (Waszyk-
Nowaczyk et al., 2021). Sacred Heart Medical Center’s main goal is to make healthcare
affordable, and one way through that is by reducing the burden on its operations. While it
may effectively deliver vaccination, working with PharmaCare will be more effective and
reduce costs.
As a behavioral health facility, Lukas Behavioral Health LLC's essential service will be
mental health and substance abuse, either remotely or physically, depending on the
patient's preference. As seen, the care population is struggling with poor lifestyle choices
that impact their mental and physical health. However, most of the patients are likely to
shy away from healthcare facilities due to stigma. Remote care provided by the joint
venture will eliminate this by ensuring that patients have access to help without facing
stigma.
GMC Home Healthcare’s essential service is home healthcare. Home health care is an
essential service in Allegany where most of the residents are older and frail and some
diagnosed with chronic illnesses. While some patients may want to visit the urgent care
center, Sacred Heart Medical Center can work with GMC Home Healthcare through
coordination of care.
Uber’s essential service will be to provide access to stress-free transportation. According
to the National Center for Mobility Management (n.d.), access to healthcare for rural
populations, which make up the care population for the ecosystem design, brings unique
challenges. Partnering with Uber gives Sacred Heart Medical Center an opportunity to
tap into its logistics expertise to facilitate the mobility of patients, medical supplies, and
staff to streamline population health and improve patient outcomes.
Briefing Point 4. Impact on the Care Population
Quality of Care Delivery and Ecosystem Care Collaboration
Ecosystem care collaboration can be achieved by adopting a socio-ecological model of
communication to enhance behavioral change among Allegany residents who engage in
smoking. According to Western Maryland Health System and Allegany County Health
Department (2017), strategies already exists to deal with substance abuse among
Allegany residents, yet it is still a recurring issue. Sacred Heart Medical Center,
therefore, needs to take advantage of the power of the ecosystem and external healthcare
entities to reduce the number of people smoking. The socio-ecological model of
communication believes that in order to understand how people behave in their social
context, to overcome the barriers to change (Kincaid et al., 2009). Since it takes a
systems approach to analyze a problem, Sacred Heart Medical Center and Lukas
Behavioral Health LLC can use it to understand the complexity and the interrelatedness
of the factors contributing to substance abuse. It will help understand why the community
has been resistant to change and improve communication with the community on ways to
reduce smoking and its effects. Since the model will be dealing with real people in the
care populations, the parties have to be sure to guarantee individual informed consent and
privacy, and confidentiality.
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Social Determinants of Health and Ecosystem Outcomes

Addressing the social determinants of health will play a crucial role in providing
Allegany residents with adequate access and quality care. As part of the ECOS Health
System, Sacred Heart Medical Center needs to conduct community health needs
assessment (CHNA) process and engage the external healthcare entities and the care
population. By utilizing a wide range of stakeholders, including patients, the pharmacy,
the behavioral care facility, and the home health agency, Sacred Heart Medical Center
can be sure to obtain patient-centered outcomes and comparative results. Analysis of the
care population has shown that they are mostly lower-income households but with an
engaging CHNA, the ecosystem design can be sure to address their specific health issues
and understand the root causes to implement the right strategies to address them
(American Hospital Association, 2019). It will also build relationships with the
healthcare entities that are important community assets and foster a healthier community
where the patients can access care at appropriate levels.
Additionally, Sacred Heart Medical Center needs to develop a healthcare business model
with the other external healthcare entities. The business model will clearly outline the
value each entity will create for the care population. The customer value proposition is an
important component of a healthcare business model that identifies the role of each entity
in meeting patient needs and delivering quality care through partner networks
(Viswanadham, 2021). The most suitable business model that will work for the
community is the platform business model, which will bring together all the entities,
including the Uber Company.
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Reference
Allegany County Health Department. (2017). Allegany County Health Department 2017 Annual
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https://health.maryland.gov/allegany/Documents/AboutUs-Administration/
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American Hospital Association. (2019). Engaging Patients and Communities in the CHNA
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American Medical Association. (2022, August 22). What is behavioral health? American
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