PRINCIPAL CARE MANAGEMENT (PCM)
Ongoing support between visits can make a meaningful difference when you are managing a complex rheumatologic condition. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and vasculitis require careful monitoring and medication management, not just care during office visits.
Principal Care Management gives you added support between appointments. Our rheumatology team stays connected to your care, helping keep your treatment plan on track and addressing changes or flares when they arise.
Principal Care Management (PCM) is a Medicare-supported care coordination program designed for patients with a single serious chronic condition that is expected to last at least three months and that requires specialist management.
It is built for the situation most of our patients are in: one demanding condition, an involved treatment regimen, and long stretches between appointments where questions come up and symptoms change. PCM fills those stretches with monitoring, education and a care team you can actually reach.
If your condition appears on this list and is being managed by our practice, ask whether PCM is available to you.
Our rheumatology specialists understand what it is like to live with autoimmune and inflammatory disease, the unpredictability, the medication burden, the stretch of weeks where you are not sure whether what you are feeling is worth a phone call.
Through PCM, that call already exists. Your care team reaches out on a schedule, works from the same chart as your physician, and escalates to Dr. Ayesha Kanwal when your symptoms warrant it. You are not managing your condition alone between visits.
Principal Care Management is covered by Medicare Part B and by many other insurance plans. Standard deductibles and coinsurance may apply depending on your coverage.
Before you enroll, we verify your benefits and explain exactly what you can expect to pay. No surprises.
PCM is for patients managing one serious condition that needs specialist attention. CCM is for patients managing two or more chronic conditions at once. PCM concentrates the support on a single demanding diagnosis, usually your rheumatologic one. CCM coordinates across all of your conditions and all of your providers. You cannot be enrolled in both in the same month, and we will help you work out which one fits your situation.
No. PCM happens between your regular appointments, mostly by phone. Your existing visit schedule with Dr. Kanwal does not change.
A care manager on our rheumatology team, working under Dr. Ayesha Kanwal and with access to your chart. You work with the same care manager over time, so you are not repeating your history at every call.
Yes. Many patients are enrolled in both. PCM provides the ongoing support and coordination, and RPM adds home readings that your care team reviews between calls. If both are appropriate for you, we will explain how they work together and confirm your coverage before you enrol in either.