The Impact of Obamacare on Safety Net Hospitals
As seen in Becker's Health IT & CIO Review. Safety net hospitals—as the name implies—play a critical role in the nation's health care system by serving low-income, uninsured and medically and socially vulnerable patients regardless of their ability to pay. Yet because they serve such a high proportion of patients who are uninsured or enrolled in Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), many safety net hospitals face an uncertain financial future. Such uncertainty results from government funding changes, increased performance and service expectations...
Recruiting Millennial Primary Care Physicians By Katherine P. Redmond
As seen in Becker's Hospital Review. Where have all the primary care physicians (PCPs) gone? If your organization is experiencing greater difficulty attracting and retaining qualified PCPs, you're part of a national trend. By 2025, there's projected to be a shortfall of between 12,500 and 31,100 PCPs in the United States, according to a new study by the Association of American Medical Colleges. This projected shortage is alarming, given the significant clinical and business impact of PCPs. Not only do PCPs serve as...
How Is Your ACO Doing? Check with Your Patients! By Shanti Wilson
As seen in HealthITAnalytics. While the growth rate of accountable care organizations (ACOs) has slowed over the past two years, and despite several departures from Medicare’s Pioneer ACO program, approximately 70 percent of the US population live in areas served by ACOs. Nearly 45 percent reside in areas served by two or more ACOs, based on data- from consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Since the start of 2014, an estimated 4.5 million more lives are now part of public and private ACOs, and...
Is Your Patient Health Care Data Secure? Take These Four Checklist Tests And Be Sure!
Originally published in the Newsletter of Physicians Reimbursement Fund, Inc. By: Margaret S. Leonard Does your practice use electronic health records? Do you rely on interactive websites or online portals where patients can enter their personal demographic and billing information? Do you utilize third party billing services? All of the above questions are important, and if you answered “yes” to any of them, it’s time to ask yourself one more question: Just how well is my patient data being protected? If you aren’t...
5 Steps Toward Maximizing Your Clinical and Business Intelligence (C&BI) By Kam Reams
Although management guru Peter Drucker famously said “What gets measured, gets managed,” measurement itself, while a great starting point, is no guarantee of management. In health care, clinical and business intelligence (C&BI) involves analyzing and using healthcare data to directly inform—and presumably improve—clinical and business decision-making. Yet data analysis is easier said than done, as HIMSS board member Diane M. Carr recently acknowledged in an interview: “With the explosion of electronic health records recently, more and more health systems and individual...
Developing a Successful Physician Engagement Strategy
As seen in Becker's Hospital Review. If your hospital, clinic, or system is struggling with successfully transitioning from a fee-for-service to fee-for-value payment environment, look no further than your physicians to potentially fuel your fiscal growth and improve your quality of care. Physician engagement is the holy grail of today’s healthcare industry, and it’s easy to see why. In a recent Gallup study of a hospital system, physicians rated “fully engaged” and “engaged” delivered an average of 51% more inpatient...
Finding ROI Through EHR Optimization
As seen in Managed Healthcare Executive. By the end of 2015, it is estimated that healthcare providers will spend over $6.05 billion annually on their electronic health record (EHR) systems in the United States. Health providers have been working to receive their stimulus funding as defined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) by implementing technologies that support the delivery of care. The Office of the National Coordinator has calculated that it has spent close to $24...
3 Ways Disrupting Healthcare Silos Helps Achieve Triple Aim Goals By Kam Reams & Alan Little
As seen in Becker’s Hospital Review. The Triple Aim is the backbone of healthcare reform; however, there are barriers to effective system-wide change that must be addressed before we can seize opportunities for improving the health of individuals and populations while reducing costs. Long-standing operational silos make realizing positive reform an extremely difficult endeavor. By addressing these silos and transforming the existing model of healthcare delivery, we can begin to realize the objectives of the Triple Aim. The Silo Mentality A...
Practical Approaches to Enhance Care Transitions into the Community By Shanti Wilson
As seen in Becker’s Hospital Review. Enhancing care transitions requires involvement from all members of the care team. From the provider to the patient, practical approaches to advancing communication and data are key for improving outcomes and quality of care. Health education, community-based organizations (CBOs), soft handoffs, nurse case managers, and shared action plans can all enrich care transitions and lead to improvements throughout the care continuum. By focusing on data and analytics and finding gaps...
Consumer-Driven Health Plans Require Effective Price Transparency Tools By Elyse Ruiz
Today, more and more consumers are enrolling in high-deductible health plans (HDHP), also known as Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHP). According to the Institute on HealthCare Consumerism, “More than one in five Americans with private insurance is enrolled in a high-deductible health plan, [with an average] deductible over $1,000.” For many Americans, HDHP enrollment allows consumers to reduce premiums and avoid over-insurance, and is a viable alternative to the traditional HMO and PPO healthcare plans. The spike in CDHPs is understandable;...
Commercial ACOs: Ten Questions To Ask Yourself Before Diving In By Sylvia Dochterman
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has spawned a rise in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)—both private commercial ACOs and public sector ACOs—in recent years. This proliferation largely resulted from an ACA provision regarding traditional Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) programs. The provision required providers to organize as ACOs if they wanted to benefit from new shared-savings programs and value-based incentives. Many private commercial payers have since jumped onto the ACO bandwagon, and your organization may be considering doing the same. Before you follow suit,...