Chronic Care Management

Disease-Specific Programs

Multi-Condition Management

Medication Management

Prescribed medications, such as opioids, can be safe and useful for pain management. However, the local, state, and federal governments control these medications. This is because these medications can be misused. This Controlled Medication Agreement lists valuable information about these medications. The list tells you how to safely keep and use these medications during your treatment with Pure Healthcare. It is your duty to follow these rules.

Safe Use

• Take your pain medication as your healthcare provider tells you. Follow the instructions on your prescription bottle.
• Tell your healthcare provider about all medications you take. This includes herbal medications, over-the-counter medications, and any illegal substances. Understand that these medications or substances could cause harmful drug-to-drug interactions.
• Inform Pure Healthcare immediately if you are prescribed pain medication by another healthcare provider. Do not seek additional medications from other healthcare providers. Tell all other healthcare providers that you are currently in a symptom management treatment program with Pure Healthcare.

Patient Roles and Responsibilities

• Do not drive or operate machinery while taking pain medications. Doing so is dangerous.
• Do not give or sell your pain medication. This is dangerous and against the law.
• While taking these medications, do not consume or use illegal substances of any kind.
• Your healthcare provider may request a urine drug test during your treatment. This ensures you are following your treatment plan instructions. Your healthcare provider may request that you see an addiction specialist if your drug test shows other substances.

Safe Storage

• Store your pain medication in a safe and secure place. This may be a locked cabinet or lockbox.
• You are responsible for the safety of your medications. This includes keeping them safe from loss or theft. Report stolen medications to the police and to your healthcare team immediately.
• Please understand that your medications will NOT be replaced if they are lost, misplaced, disposed of or stolen.

Refills and Appointments

• Your healthcare provider will not give early refills of pain medications for any reason.
• Prescriptions for any medications are only given during visits or during regular office hours. No medication refills are given in the evenings or on weekends.
• Provide your original medication bottles for a pill count. Confirm the number of medications used or unused.
• Use only one pharmacy for all your pain medications.
• Bring your original medication bottles to your scheduled home or office visits. This is important for good pain management. It also helps show that you are using medications as instructed.

Safe Disposal

• Safely dispose of medications that are no longer part of your treatment plan.

Lifestyle Support

Advance Care Planning

Providing Peace of Mind for Yourself and Loved Ones

Whether you are active and healthy or living with a chronic disease, advance care planning is an important part of self-management at any age. While it can be overwhelming and uncomfortable to think about ever needing such a plan, the lack of advance care planning can result in confusion, questioning or disagreement among family members if you are unable to speak for yourself.

Advance care planning can be a gift to your family and loved ones. It ensures your wishes and preferences are consistent with the care and treatment you receive if you are unable to make your own decisions. Knowing how you want to be cared for and who you want to make decisions on your behalf can take some of the burden off family and friends. A plan also gives your doctors information about your care preferences and whether you want life-sustaining measures if needed.

Some of the important conversations in advance care planning include those about the use of emergency treatments to keep you alive and the use of artificial ways to do this, such as CPR, ventilator use, artificial nutrition, and comfort care. Considering your personal values and what makes life meaningful to you can help guide your decisions. Do you want to have the most days, or is your focus on quality of life? Would you want to take pain medication at the end of life, even if it made you drowsy and lethargic?

Decisions on how you want to handle these situations could be different based on your age, and they can change as your life or illness progresses. Advance care planning allows you to provide instructions and update them as your views change so your decisions are heard.

Advance Directives: Sharing Your Healthcare Wishes

Whether you are living with a chronic disease or not, advance care planning is an important part of self-management at any age. An advance directive is meant to help patients ahead and guides doctors and loved ones in making clear decisions on their healthcare when they are unable to do so. Advance directives apply only to healthcare decisions, they do not affect financial matters.

Advance directives have three components: a living will, a healthcare power of attorney, and a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order.

• A living will tells doctors how the patient wants to be treated if they are unable to make decisions on their own.

• A healthcare power of attorney is a legal document naming someone with the same values and wishes to make medical decisions for the patient at times the patient is unable to do so.

• A Do Not Resuscitate order allows patients to choose whether they wish to have CPR performed if an emergency happens. When a DNR is signed, the doctor will write a medical order instructing all healthcare providers not to do CPR if the patient stops breathing or their heart stops beating.

When creating an advance directive, the plan must be in writing. In Ohio, the plan also must be notarized. It is important to give a copy to your doctors and those who will have healthcare decision making power. Keep a record of who has your advance directives.

By planning, you can ensure you receive the medical care you want, avoid unnecessary suffering, and relieve caregivers of decision-making burdens and disagreements during emergencies and moments of grief.

Making Advance Care Planning Clear With a Living Will

It is important to talk about end-of-life care and express wishes. With advance directives and a living will, you can save your loved ones tough decisions by detailing your wishes.

A living will is a written document that explains which medical treatments individuals would want to be used to be kept alive, as well as preferences on other medical decisions such as pain management and organ donation. The document is only used in situations where you are unable to tell your doctor what services you want to receive.

Determining decisions for a living will should come from an individual’s values: Would you want treatment to extend your life in any situation? Would you want treatment only if a cure was possible?

A living will should address multiple end-of-life decisions, including:

• Decide if, when, and for how long you would want to be fed by a feeding tube for nutrients or receive fluids through an IV.

• Determine when you would want to be resuscitated by CPR or by a device that delivers an electric shock to stimulate the heart.

• Consider if, when, and for how long you would want to be placed on a mechanical ventilator if you were unable to breathe on your own.

• Determine if, when, and for how long you would want to receive dialysis to remove waste from your blood and manage kidney function.

• Comfort care includes any interventions to keep you comfortable and manage pain, including pain medication, being fed ice chips, and avoiding invasive tests or treatments. Determine what level of care you want to receive.

• Specify if you would like your organs and tissue to be donated.

• Contact a local medical school or donation program if you want to donate your body for scientific study.

A living will can only be honored if your doctors and loved ones know about it. Therefore, it is important to let them know you have a living will before you become ill and to share your wishes with them. Regardless of your condition, sharing your wishes can help to ensure you receive the care you want.

Care Management at Pure Healthcare

Care Management is a comprehensive, personalized process that empowers you to access appropriate resources and achieve your health and wellness goals. At Pure Healthcare, we don’t just treat your diagnosis – we focus on YOU as a whole person. 

Our Care Management approach includes: 

Member Identification and Assessment: We identify your unique healthcare needs through comprehensive screening and risk assessment. 

Person-Centered Care Planning: Together with you, we develop an individualized plan that aligns with your goals, values, and preferences – because your life doesn’t stand still, and neither do we. 

Coordinated Implementation: Our team collaborates with your primary care providers and specialists to provide seamless care coordination and eliminate healthcare gaps. 

Proactive Monitoring: We use advanced monitoring to track progress and make timely adjustments to your care plan. 

Smooth Care Transitions: We ensure continuity of care during transitions between healthcare settings. 

Continuous Evaluation: We regularly assess outcomes to confirm your care plan is helping you maximize your quality of life. 

Pure Healthcare’s Care Management is your single point of coordination, bridging gaps in healthcare that people frequently experience. Our comprehensive approach addresses the complete spectrum of needs for those living with chronic illness, empowering you to thrive and live independently longer. 

Because at Pure Healthcare, we’re making each day matter™. 

Goal Setting & Monitoring 

At Pure Healthcare, you are an essential part of the healthcare team. We listen to your needs, and work with you to create the best treatment plan for your goals. We encourage you to talk with your care provider about your diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment choices. We ask that you provide us with the information we need to deliver your care and follow your treatment plan. Together, we will follow the treatment plan and make changes along the way using the information you provide. If you are unable to follow your plan, we ask that you tell your provider or care manager.