What is the cascade of care in managed care primarily focused on?

• A. Scheduling and coordinating follow-up visits after an acute event to prevent deterioration
• B. Reducing data sharing between providers
• C. Standardizing employee benefits across plans
• D. Increasing network size to reduce wait times

Answer: (B)

Care coordination across the patient’s treatment trajectory is what the cascade of care is all about. It means ensuring each step flows smoothly to the next—from the acute event through recovery and required follow-up—so care doesn’t break down and problems don’t worsen. Scheduling and coordinating follow-up visits after an acute event directly embodies that flow, because it focuses on timely handoffs between settings and ongoing monitoring to prevent deterioration.

This approach relies on good information sharing among providers so everyone knows what happened, what follow-up is due, and what the plan is; reducing data sharing would undermine the continuity the cascade depends on. The other options miss the emphasis on maintaining an uninterrupted sequence of care, focusing instead on plan features or generic access rather than the care progression itself.