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,...
Healthcare Price Transparency: Is Your Company Meeting Consumer Expectations? By Carly Dunham
In today’s era of consumerism, companies like Amazon get it. They empower shoppers to compare prices, read reviews, and they deliver purchases straight to your door. Healthcare has some catching up to do, especially when it comes to healthcare price transparency, quality transparency, and consumer engagement. As American consumers, we expect our shopping experience to be easy—no matter what we’re looking to buy. We favor businesses that practice transparency and provide high-quality, cost-effective products, and we take greater pride in...
Project Management Fundamentals: Have You Mastered The Basics? By
In my 25 years of leading and overseeing projects in the healthcare industry, I’ve developed an understanding of what makes a project successful. It starts with a bit of luck — luck in having a committed sponsor, a dedicated team, and a realistic budget and schedule. It requires the ability to lead, motivate, influence, and direct that team to deliver results. Most importantly, it requires an understanding of the project management basics, or fundamentals, and the ability to execute these...
The Evolution of Pay-for-Performance Healthcare and Reimbursement: Part One By Mark Jahn
Over the next five years, the healthcare industry will experience a significant change in the primary reimbursement method as the industry moves from Fee-For-Service (FFS) to Fee-For-Value (FFV) reimbursement. Also known as Value-Based (VB) Purchasing, Pay-for-Performance, or Pay-for-Value, value-based reimbursement is not new to the healthcare industry. What is notably significant about the shift to value-based programs as the primary reimbursement method is the degree of dominance and the aggressive time frame. There are several recent examples that indicate this transition...
Is Your Hospital Really Paperless? By Josh Nathan
As seen in Healthcare IT News. It is tempting to believe that your hospital is now paperless once you’ve implemented an electronic medical record (EMR) system or completed an EHR conversion. While EHRs are the biggest step toward going paperless, most organizations still manage volumes of paper which prevents the establishment of a truly integrated care team – one in which all information is available to all providers in near real time. Organizations that are not completely...
Maximizing the Success of Population Health: Building Community Partnerships By Gina Buban
With the passing and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the healthcare industry has experienced a resurgence in the drive to reduce healthcare spending via Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Patient Center Medical Homes (PCMH), and the overarching concept of population health management. For payers and providers, the convergence of these models refocuses the discussion on how to manage patient outcomes and costs through population health management programs. Population health relies...
Moving Your Healthcare Organization – Eight Strategies to Ensure Your Move Runs Smoothly By Margaret Leonard, Joella Canales and Laika Kayani
Making a move in the best of times is difficult. For medical practices, clinics and hospitals already challenged by our changing healthcare landscape, planning for a move or transition takes specialized skills and experience. By selecting an appropriate manager for the project, identifying and engaging appropriate stakeholders, and having a well-designed strategic transition plan, you’ll have a great opportunity to come out a hero — and not the victim of unforeseen circumstances. The following checklist is designed to help you develop...