Complex care aims to help patients in meeting their goals, ideally leading to more appropriate usage of the health care system, particularly outpatient and preventative care. Complex care programs often face pressure from funders to demonstrate reduced total cost of care and return on investment in a timely manner. However, it takes time to build relationships with patients, connect them to resources, and stabilize acute and chronic medical conditions, leading to a lag in financial benefits – if they accrue at all. What other metrics can programs use to demonstrate their impact, and how can we ensure these metrics are reproducible, relevant, relatively comprehensive, and not overly burdensome?

There are a variety of care models used by complex care programs across the country and no clear consensus on ideal structure. Furthermore, programs are constantly faced with ongoing changes in our society, available resources/financial constraints, health system needs, and the needs of our patient populations. When and how do program leaders decide to adjust overall program structure in response to these changing needs? What best practices can help smooth these transitions?

Complex care staff work with patients to address crisis situations and systemic barriers day in and day out which requires unique skillset though can also take an emotional toll. How do we best identify staff who can succeed in these roles, bring them into our programs, and support staff resiliency and longevity in the field?

Improving the health of complex patients requires input from diverse parties from their medical providers to various social service organizations. However, in our current climate, consistent, timely access to, and communication with diverse stakeholders remains a challenge. How can complex care staff best partner with providers and social service systems to ensure access and support timely information exchange to advance the goals of patients?