How Waymark Cut Hospitalizations in Half for Medicaid Patients

Yesterday's panel was packed with insights from Hannah (VP of Care Model & Quality) and Sara (Head of Care Operations). It’s clear they’ve redefined how to scale impactful care models.

Here are the main takeaways:

(1) Do research before talking to users.
Waymark started with deep research—what’s worked (and failed) in Medicaid care. Only after building a rough care model did they go to patients, health plans and providers for feedback.

The lesson? Don’t waste your stakeholders’ time asking for answers you can find in the research. Start with facts, then test with users to refine.

(2) Train for collaboration, not just competency.
Waymark’s training philosophy is a lesson in scaling thoughtfully while staying effective.

• 50/50 approach: Training is a mix of virtual sessions for efficiency and in-person components for hands-on skill validation.
• Multidisciplinary onboarding: A two-day shared training ensures everyone—from CHWs to pharmacists—starts with the same foundation.
• Local adaptation: Training is tailored to local needs, with market leads customizing content to align with state certifications and community-specific challenges.
• In-person matters: Some aspects, like hands-on skills or team dynamics, simply work better face-to-face.

(3) Flexibility thrives with structure.
Waymark initially allowed a “free-for-all” for provider preferences—letting workflows adapt entirely to individual needs. This approach quickly became unsustainable.

They shifted to a “menu” approach:

• Providers choose from a standardized set of options for referrals, scheduling, and communication.
• Care coordinators handle the nuances, ensuring workflows remain scalable without overwhelming the team.

Sara noted, “It’s not one size fits all, but it’s not chaos either”​​.(4) Building a homegrown system centered on goals.

Waymark explored existing EHRs and CRMs but found none that met the needs of their community health workers, who are central to their model. Existing tools had “too much of the wrong information” and lacked what was critical: anchoring activities around patient goals.

Their custom system prioritized three features:

• Patient lists for easy tracking and coordination.
• Patient profiles showing a full history of interactions.
• Goals at the center, replacing diagnosis codes and billing details to keep care focused on what matters most to patients​​.

(5) Patient engagement: targeting with precision.Waymark’s approach to patient engagement evolved from “throwing spaghetti at the wall” to a more strategic, data-driven process:

• Prioritization through data: Their data science team analyzes who is most likely to benefit, guiding outreach timing and methods.
• Community-based outreach: They saw the highest success when meeting patients in person—at facilities like hospitals or in their communities—despite operational challenges.
• Tailored outreach: Certain team members, like pharmacy techs, focus on specific patient issues (e.g., acute pharmacy needs), which builds trust and opens doors for broader engagement​​.

The recording is full of practical takeaways—how Waymark tackles patient engagement, scales provider preferences, and builds care models that actually work. Don’t miss out—watch the replay here.

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Quick intro: we’re Thomas and Rik, building Awell - a low-code platform allowing care teams to design, implement and optimize care flows in days, not months. CareOps grew out of our years spent improving CareOps at innovative providers.