From Camden to Memphis: Recent Complex Care Randomized Controlled Trials Present a Call to Action

Blog

By Allison Hamblin and Rachel Davis, Center for Health Care Strategies


In early 2020, the field of complex care has seen at least two robust additions to the evidence base. First, the field was immersed in pondering the implications of the recent New England Journal of Medicine publication of the Camden Coalition’s randomized controlled trial (RCT) results. And then, the American Journal of Managed Care reported the findings of a CareMore Health RCT in Memphis.

Whereas the Camden Coalition results sent health care stakeholders (including ourselves) into a flurry of nuanced self-reflection about how much we still have to learn in this field, the CareMore results might be seen as a sigh of relief — that indeed complex care has been onto something. However, it’s the two studies in combination that present the real contribution to the field and a call to action in terms of where to go next with this work.

In this Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) blog post, Allison Hamblin, CHCS president and CEO and Rachel Davis, director of complex care at CHCS, describe key opportunities for the continued development of complex care best practices, gleaned from the recent studies and experts across the nation.