Concurrent care is a model for treating a patient’s health condition by delivering two or more distinct types of medical services or treatments simultaneously. This approach involves multiple healthcare professionals or different treatment modalities working together. This integrated method represents a shift toward a more holistic patient treatment strategy, moving away from traditional sequential processes.
Defining the Simultaneous Approach
Concurrent care is fundamentally defined by the simultaneous nature of treatment, where various medical interventions are active for the same patient at the same time. This is often necessary when a patient has multiple complex conditions, or when a single serious illness requires diverse specialized services. The process requires a high degree of coordination between different medical professionals, ensuring that all treatments align with the patient’s overall health goals.
This simultaneous model contrasts sharply with sequential care, where a patient receives treatment for one condition or phase before moving on to the next. For instance, in an uncoordinated setting, a patient may be treated for a substance use disorder and then later for a mental health condition, but sequential treatment often ignores how the two issues interact. Concurrent care recognizes that a patient’s complex health status often demands diverse expertise from multiple providers working in concert.
The model can also be distinguished from simply having multiple doctors involved, as it requires that each physician actively treat a condition related to their expertise. Payers, such as Medicare, recognize concurrent care when two or more physicians of different specialties render services that are more extensive than a simple consultation for the same patient on the same date. For this to be considered medically necessary, each provider must be addressing a distinct aspect of the patient’s complex medical needs.
Common Scenarios for Concurrent Care
The principles of concurrent care are applied across various medical fields dealing with complexity and co-occurring conditions. A common example involves a patient admitted to a hospital for a specific acute injury, such as a fractured hip. In this scenario, an orthopedic surgeon would manage the fracture and perioperative course, while a hospitalist would simultaneously manage co-existing chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes or hypertension. Each specialist treats different diagnoses on the same day, demonstrating coordinated care across specialties.
This model is also the preferred standard for treating concurrent disorders, which involve co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Instead of treating the addiction first and then the depression, or vice versa, concurrent care dictates that both conditions are addressed at the same time by an integrated team. This approach acknowledges the interconnected nature of these disorders, which can otherwise lead to contradictory or incompatible treatment plans if handled separately.
In complex pediatric medicine, particularly for children with serious chronic illnesses, concurrent care is utilized to manage multiple specialists and therapies. These children often require the simultaneous input of cardiologists, pulmonologists, and neurologists, alongside physical therapists and nutritionists. Managing these diverse needs concurrently ensures that the child receives comprehensive treatment for their condition while also addressing the developmental and supportive services necessary for their well-being.
Clarifying Curative and Comfort Care
One of the most significant applications of concurrent care is bridging the traditional divide between curative treatment and comfort-focused care. Historically, a patient with a serious, life-limiting illness had to make a choice: pursue aggressive, life-extending measures (curative care) or enroll in hospice to receive end-of-life comfort and symptom management (palliative care). The Medicare Hospice Benefit, for example, traditionally required patients to forgo treatments aimed at curing their disease upon enrollment.
Concurrent care changes this dynamic by allowing patients to receive aggressive disease-directed therapy alongside comprehensive palliative services. The goal is to maximize a patient’s quality of life and manage symptoms like pain, nausea, and fatigue, even while they continue treatments such as chemotherapy or dialysis. This provision of supportive care from the time of diagnosis, rather than waiting until the final months of life, is essential for maintaining patient dignity and function.
This blended approach is particularly significant in regulatory exceptions that have formalized the concurrent model. For instance, the Medicare Hospice Benefit includes a provision that allows pediatric patients to receive curative treatments while simultaneously accessing hospice services. This recognition of the unique needs of children with terminal illnesses provides a crucial bridge, allowing families to benefit from supportive care without abandoning aggressive therapy.
Similarly, certain payment models and the Veterans Health Administration allow for the simultaneous receipt of life-prolonging treatments, like dialysis for end-stage kidney disease, and hospice support. This flexibility eases the psychological burden on patients by removing the pressure to choose between physical comfort and continued treatment. The goal of concurrent care in this context is to smooth the practical and emotional transitions a patient experiences, allowing for a more gradual shift in focus as their illness progresses.
How Concurrent Care Improves Outcomes
The integrated nature of concurrent care directly translates into tangible improvements in patient well-being and healthcare efficiency. Patients report higher satisfaction rates because their symptoms are managed more proactively, and their personal goals are integrated into the treatment plan. This holistic focus on the person, not just the disease, addresses physical, psychological, and spiritual needs simultaneously.
Better coordination among multiple providers helps to reduce the likelihood of medical errors and streamlines communication for the patient and their family. By managing symptoms effectively in an outpatient setting, concurrent care models have been shown to reduce the need for unscheduled hospital visits and lower the rate of costly readmissions. This systematic, team-based approach ensures that the patient’s journey is supported at every turn, leading to smoother transitions between different levels of care.