Service integration is a fundamental element of the PACE program. That is, the same people who deliver care meet together on a regular basis to discuss and develop an overall assessment and treatment plan for each enrollee. This approach allows for health professionals to respond immediately to changes in enrollees' conditions which are frequent, sudden and often serious in the case of the frail elderly. Enrollees attend the PACE Center, on average, two to three times a week. There they receive primary medical care, nursing and social work services, rehabilitative and restorative therapies, personal care, meals and an opportunity to participate in various activities.
Participants see their physician an average of twice a month and more frequently if necessary.
When enrollees do not come to the Center services are provided in their homes. An enrollee who requires hospital or nursing home care remains in PACE and care continues to be coordinated and monitored by PACE staff, thus assuring continuity of care between services provided in the Center, at home and in institutions. Hospitalization utilization rates for PACE enrollees are at or below levels for the general older population, and nursing home rates are way below levels for a comparably frail group. The quality of care provided by PACE programs to date has been high and is never sacrificed in pursuit of lower costs. Federal and state review processes, an independent review by the Community Health Accreditation Program in 1993, ongoing consumer satisfaction surveys, and the findings of HCFA's evaluation verify the high quality of PACE care.