Anticipatory Care

Anticipatory Care ('AC’) is designed to support those patients who are at high risk of unwarranted health outcomes to live well and independently for longer, through structured proactive care. Typically, it involves structured proactive care and support from a multidisciplinary team (MDT) and focuses on groups of patients with similar characteristics (for example people living with multimorbidity and/or frailty) identified using validated tools (such as the electronic frailty index) supplemented by professional judgement. All of this is refined on the basis of their needs and risks (such as falls or social isolation) to create a dynamic list of patients who will be offered proactive care interventions to improve or sustain their health. A National Operating Model is expected for Anticipatory Care imminently and this will need to be taken into account when developing this element of the programme beyond Team Around the Person (TAP).