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CSuite Solutions: Embracing Digital Marketing to Reach Customers
How has the healthcare industry embraced digital marketing today?
There has been a rapid transformation in the way the healthcare industry is reaching out to its consumers since the arrival of COVID-19. Digital marketing has been embraced like never before and has proved to be a boon for the industry and consumers alike. CSuite Solutions explains several ways the healthcare industry has adopted digital marketing to expand its reach to patients and healthcare seekers.
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience go hand-in-hand. SEO, a smart digital marketing tactic, has been adopted by the healthcare industry to increase its online exposure, especially with local search. SEO experts are assisting healthcare providers enhance patients’ user experience, increase their visibility on the search results, and drive more organic traffic to their healthcare website.
Statistics show that 77% of online health seekers use Google, Bing, and other search engines to look for health-related information; over 70% of health-related searchers click on the results listed on the first page; and 47% of internet users search for information about doctors or other healthcare professionals.
Moreover, location-based SEO and geotagging posts help the marketing efforts of an organization. Location-specific content helps targeted users to arrive at the website or mobile app.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
The healthcare industry is advertising its services on search engines, social media, and other platforms through PPC. For instance, Google Adwords offers display ads and text ads that appear on various websites and are targeted based on the viewer’s past searches.
With the right purchased key search terms, these ads can return quality traffic and direct potential leads to the online platform of the healthcare provider. The reporting services that measure the performance of the ads on the platforms allow healthcare providers to know if their approach is working.
Statistics show that healthcare companies spent an estimated $36B in 2020 on global advertising. Whereas more than 7m healthcare providers invested a total of $10.1 billion in PPC ads.
Social media marketing
Social media has allowed healthcare providers to stay connected with their patients even in uncertain times. Social media marketing has enabled healthcare providers to target patients under different age groups, gender, medical conditions, and health issues.
Many healthcare providers with an active social media presence have helped build public awareness during the pandemic and supported the masses with tips and relevant information. This has allowed brand recall allowing healthcare providers to benefit by leveraging the social media platforms.
Statistics have revealed that 60% of the social media users in the US trust posts shared by health professionals and doctors, 83% of the users search for health-related information online, and 91% vouched for the online social media community support in health-related matters.
Content marketing
Healthcare providers have utilized content marketing tools such as blogs, infographics, videos, and e-books to showcase their expertise to the relevant audience. Quality content has enabled healthcare providers to share and engage with patients in meaningful and also timely ways.
By focussing on providing value to the readers instead of marketing the brand, healthcare providers have earned the trust and interest of their audience through their rich content. Data shows that healthcare content marketing generates three times more ROI than outbound marketing and that ad spend is 62% less effective than content marketing. Video marketing has led to 66% more targeted leads this past year. Moreover, 83% of health organizations have implemented a content marketing strategy.
Mobile marketing
Healthcare providers are creating mobile responsive websites to direct organic traffic to their websites. Mobile marketing is a cost-effective technique that has been adopted by healthcare providers to reach healthcare aspirants on their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
App-based marketing, in-game mobile marketing, location-based marketing, mobile search ads, mobile image ads, and text messages are some of the ways mobile marketing has been adopted by healthcare providers. It has been shown that 44% of patients who research hospitals on a mobile device end up scheduling an appointment and 47.6% of healthcare industry emails are opened via a mobile device.
Email marketing
For many years, healthcare providers have embraced email marketing to stay in touch with their audience, provide a personalized experience, establish a relationship, and create recall value. With email marketing automation strategies, the healthcare industry is efficiently reaching out to new audiences and succeeding in retaining current patients.
74% of the digital healthcare marketers found email to be the most effective distribution channel for new content, and email was found to be 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter to help attract new patients. Additionally, 89% of digital healthcare marketers reported that email was the primary source for lead generation.
In these uncertain times, the healthcare industry is successfully leveraging digital marketing to retain their patients and acquire new demographics. CSuite Solutions, a healthcare consulting firm, has the resources, know-how, and the experience to assist healthcare companies in re-adjusting and spearheading their digital marketing strategies.
How can CSuite Solutions help?
With decades of experience transforming major healthcare systems, hospitals, and physician groups into efficient and financially robust operating organizations, CSuite Solutions Advisors help its clients achieve pre-COVID outpatient services. How?
Quick Start is a CSuite Solution that helps to accelerate the process of vetting and identifying opportunities in two key areas:
Existing core operations
Identifying opportunities to improve and optimize core operations to offset losses in this area.
New technologies, business initiatives, and strategies for growth
CSuite assists its clients to select and deploy proven value-based solutions that achieve quick results.
The four-step process:
Flash Assessment: Employing a new and efficient process to quickly gather all the facts and assess the readiness of an organization to make the leap to value-based care delivery that also drives growth.
Action plan: Providing a clearly structured plan with all the critical paths identified to become a successful value-based care provider.
Implementation: With a detailed implementation plan that uses Agile Project
Management, the c-level advisors closely guide the implementation of value-based growth initiatives.
About CSuite Solutions
CSuite Solutions advisory practice was formed to attract the most senior and accomplished health care industry executives in their respective fields. They have spent most of their long careers transforming hospitals and major health care systems, physician groups, and other providers into efficient and financially robust operating organizations.
The CSuite Business Solutions practice has strategic relationships with companies that provide unique healthcare solutions that can accelerate the strategic growth of health systems and other providers.
To learn more about CSuite Solutions call at (813) 928-9328, or email us at info@Csuite Solutions.com
from CSuite Solutions https://csuitesolutionsllc.blogspot.com/2021/10/csuite-solutions-embracing-digital.html
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CSuite Solutions Explains Why A Direct-To-Employer Program is Gaining Momentum
The importance of direct-to-employers programs
As healthcare costs continue to rise, direct-to-employers programs are gaining popularity in the country. CSuite Solutions, a healthcare consulting firm, explains why the implementation of direct-to-employers programs is a crucial step for healthcare providers.
Unlock new users
Healthcare providers are cutting out the insurance middleman and establishing a partnership with organizations that aim to provide healthcare coverage to their employees at a reasonable cost. This has unlocked a whole world of users to healthcare providers that were earlier limited and hard to access. Once deployed, this strategy can provide healthcare providers with dependable contract-based revenue on a monthly basis.
Employer innovation
Digital health companies experience a higher rate of acceptance for health tools and technologies when dealing directly with employers. Employers are often quick and eager to experiment with new innovative solutions for their employees. On the other end of the spectrum lie the insurance companies that demand months and years of qualifying data before accepting a new solution. This direct healthcare access to employees entails a controlled cost to employers that would otherwise escalate due to postponed care. Moreover, the liberty of testing new solutions and access to new user behavior and data in a controlled setting empowers healthcare companies to test and improve their products.
Proven value
A couple of partnerships with large companies empowers healthcare companies to gather data that can support the value of their product. Early agreements with large companies that are less vulnerable to financial risk allow healthcare solution providers to access a high number of users. Healthcare companies can then collect information on the usage of the solution and behavior besides identifying broader trends in employee health, engagement, and retention. This health benefit offered by employers validates the product to employees as well as other employer partners and investors.
Financial wins
The access to a large number of users via an employer provides healthcare providers a robust source of new fees and revenues with minimal risk. Potentially this could lead to massive incremental net revenue in a couple of years. The direct approach to employers levels the playing field with large insurance companies.
As employers aim to achieve the goals of improving workplace safety, raising morale, and decreasing health-related absences or poor performance, direct-to-employers is becoming the rising trend that is making a huge difference - to healthcare providers, employers as well as employees.
The Direct-To-Employer program has been developed and launched by CSuite Solutions in partnership with Key Benefit Administrators (KBA), the largest group benefits administrator in the US that specializes in self-funded medical plans. This program is intended to help organizations increase their share of the commercial market.
How can CSuite Solutions help?
With decades of experience transforming major healthcare systems, hospitals, and physician groups into efficient and financially robust operating organizations, CSuite Partners and Senior Advisors can help its clients achieve pre-COVID outpatient services. How?
Quick Start is a CSuite solution that helps to accelerate the process of vetting and identifying opportunities in two key areas:
Existing core operations
Identifying opportunities to improve and optimize core operations to offset losses in this area.
New technologies, business initiatives, and strategies for growth
CSuite assists its clients to select and deploy proven value-based solutions that achieve quick results.
The four-step process:
Flash Assessment: Employing a new and efficient process to quickly gather all the facts and assess the readiness of an organization to make the leap to value-based care delivery that also drives growth.
Action plan: Providing a clearly structured plan with all the critical paths identified to become a successful value-based care provider.
Implementation: With a detailed implementation plan that uses Agile Project
Management: The c-level advisors closely guide the implementation of value-based growth initiatives.
About CSuite Solutions
CSuite Solutions advisory practice was formed to attract the most senior and accomplished health care industry executives in their respective fields. They have spent most of their long careers transforming hospitals and major health care systems, physician groups, and other providers into efficient and financially robust operating organizations.
The CSuite Business Solutions practice has strategic relationships with companies that provide unique healthcare solutions that can accelerate the strategic growth of health systems and other providers.
To learn more about CSuite Solutions call at (813) 928-9328, or email us at info@Csuite Solutions.com
from CSuite Solutions https://csuitesolutionsllc.blogspot.com/2021/10/csuite-solutions-explains-why-direct-to.html
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Permanent changes in patient care after the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the dynamics of patient care, and some of these changes are likely to become a permanent feature once the pandemic comes under control. CSuite Solutions, a healthcare consulting firm, shares five changes that may become permanent in the post-COVID-era.
1. Virtual care
Experts have been advocating telemedicine for years as a brilliant way of serving patients through expanded access and more affordable care. Out of necessity, virtual care was adopted by patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a survey, at least 60% of the patients who used virtual care tools want to use more technology to communicate with healthcare providers and manage their conditions in the future. Virtual care was found to be more personal, more convenient, and time-saving. It saved the patients’ time and energy of traveling to the doctor’s facility and waiting for their turn. Not only was this more comfortable for the patients but the information was also received better.
The future of healthcare will now be more focused on accessing care from anywhere, on-demand and with an emphasis on comfort and convenience for the patient.
2. Outbound and proactive care
The focus is already shifting to keeping the patients healthier outside vs bringing them into hospitals for care. Patient access services can contribute here to support outbound and proactive care rather than reactive and inbound care. Preventive care such as genetic tests is also gaining popularity due to its ability to foresee and manage hereditary diseases more effectively.
Improved patient access will add value to the hospital system and empower patients to engage in their care plan.
3. New protocols to stay
The new protocol that came into being during the COVID era is likely to remain. Waiting rooms are likely to become virtual as well. Physical waiting rooms will continue to mandate a distance of 6 feet between visitors.
The environment of hospitals was segregated to contain infection during COVID. The same policy may continue by approaching hospital building designs more strategically. This may include avoiding the use of porous materials and upgrading ventilation systems.
4. Prevalence of digital tools
Digital tools can monitor items like heart rate, blood sugar, and cholesterol. This information collected remotely and in a safe environment can then be shared with the healthcare organization for ongoing monitoring and analysis. This practice began with the oximeters during COVID-19 and is likely to become the way forward for patient care.
5. Parking lot appointments
COVID-19 tests and vaccinations in parking lots became an efficient healthcare delivery model besides preventing the spread of infection. A certain variant of drive-thru care is likely to become a common feature as healthcare workers will continue to provide care while keeping infectious patients out of waiting rooms. There is a parallel here with drive-through versus dine-in restaurants.
The healthcare transformation was long overdue and the pandemic expedited the change. While COVID-19 has taken a terrible toll, it may have led to some lasting and much-needed changes in healthcare for patients, providers, and payers as well. The challenge is to adopt these changes efficiently. CSuite Solutions has the right experience and know-how to turn this challenge into an opportunity.
How can CSuite Solutions help?
With decades of experience transforming major healthcare systems, hospitals, and physician groups into efficient and financially robust operating organizations, CSuite Partners and Senior Advisors can help its clients achieve the pre-COVID outpatient services. How?
Quick Start is a CSuite solution that helps to accelerate the process of vetting and identifying opportunities in two key areas:
Existing core operations
Identifying opportunities to improve and optimize core operations to offset losses in this area.
New technologies, business initiatives, and strategies for growth
CSuite assists its clients to select and deploy proven value-based solutions that achieve quick results.
The four-step process:
Flash Assessment: Employing a new and efficient process to quickly gather all the facts and assess the readiness of an organization to make the leap to value-based care delivery that also drives growth.
Action plan: Providing a clearly structured plan with all the critical paths identified to become a successful value-based care provider.
Implementation: With a detailed implementation plan that uses Agile Project
Management, the c-level advisors closely guide the implementation of value-based growth initiatives.
About CSuite Solutions
CSuite Solutions advisory practice was formed to attract the most senior and accomplished health care industry executives in their respective fields. They have spent most of their long careers transforming hospitals and major health care systems, physician groups, and other providers into efficient and financially robust operating organizations.
The CSuite Business Solutions practice has strategic relationships with companies that provide unique healthcare solutions that can accelerate the strategic growth of health systems and other providers.
To learn more about CSuite Solutions call at (813) 928-9328, or email us at info@Csuite Solutions.com
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8 Tips to Restore Outpatient Services to Pre-COVID Levels
COVID-19 has transformed the healthcare landscape. The pandemic has transformed how healthcare providers are treating patients and how patients are seeking healthcare. The non-COVID patient treatments and non-emergency surgeries have taken a backseat since COVID-19 arrived. This is due to the obvious strain on healthcare infrastructure and the general trend of avoiding medical facilities to avoid getting infected.
But now healthcare services need to strike a balance between providing necessary services while minimizing the risks to patients and healthcare providers.
CSuite Solutions, a healthcare consulting firm, recommends several steps healthcare facilities can take to restore the outpatient services to the maximum possible level:
Short-term healthcare solutions:
Optimize use of telehealth: The deployment of telehealth solutions and programs enables people suffering from other medical ailments to receive care without entering medical facilities, minimizing their risk of contracting the virus. The 3 benefits of telehealth services:
Screen patients: Check remotely for COVID-like symptoms and remotely care for them thereby preventing the spread of infection.
Remote routine care: Provide care for patients with chronic diseases remotely. This protects them from unnecessary exposure to infection by coming to the facility.
Protect healthcare providers and staff: It is crucial to protect these assets from exposure to infection. A quarantine would only reduce the availability of precious help.
Follow protocol: Compared to inpatient acute care settings, outpatient settings have traditionally lacked infrastructure and resources to support infection prevention and surveillance activities.
The infection prevention and control recommendations by WHO and CDC must be followed to minimize infection spread. At a minimum, outpatient facilities need to adhere to local, state, and federal requirements regarding reportable disease and outbreak reporting.
Visual alerts can be placed at entrances and in strategic places that instruct on hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette.
Setting up waiting rooms or using partitions and signs can help keep patients at least 6 feet apart.
Continue to screen patients at entry points using automated fever detection devices. These devices are touchless with high-tech thermal detection technology.
Protocol adherence is the first step to creating a safer facility.
Educate and train healthcare personnel: Healthcare providers are the most precious asset today. As the pandemic evolves and new safety protocols come into play, the constant training and education of these assets are imperative to maintain safe outpatient operations and facilities.
HR deployment and capacity building: Challenges of shortage, skewed distribution, and misalignment between health worker competencies and current/ future population health needs are already impacting the industry amid COVID-19. Strategies must be created to ensure the availability of healthcare workers, now and in the future.
Long-term healthcare solutions:
Innovative and flexible facility design: Going forward, facilities must be designed to enable faster re-purposing of beds and to maximize infection control (for example, more single rooms, flexible HVAC systems). It is time to consider scaling up and designing multifaceted resources to cater to the new normal.
Elective care in dedicated facilities: As elective care becomes tough in these times, patients requiring complex/high-risk care, such as those with cancer, cannot wait for COVID to be eradicated. Dedicating specific areas, either within hospitals or in dedicated non-COVID-19 facilities may be the best answer.
Virtual care: Massive expansion of home-based care likely will be supplemented with artificial intelligence (AI). Virtual care via AI, phone-based diagnostics, and other virtual patient engagement platforms. This may become the first point of interaction for non-acute care.
Separation of ancillary functions: Functions such as imaging and lab tests may need to be segregated from core hospital operations. This may occur due to an accelerated demand for diagnostic testing during emergency responses to COVID-19.
These changes can be enabled with:
Technological advancements such as AI-based diagnostics, cloud-based storage of medical records, and integration of information across the care continuum in and outside the hospitals.
Greater flexibility in reimbursement models from payers, and, in particular, for telehealth and home healthcare services.
Consumer adoption will be crucial to sustaining the continued use of online/home-based services.
Regulatory changes may be needed to develop new frameworks, especially as more service activities shift from hospitals to out-of-hospital care settings.
How can CSuite Solutions help?
With decades of experience transforming major healthcare systems, hospitals, and physician groups into efficient and financially robust operating organizations, the CSuite partners and senior advisors can help its clients achieve the pre-COVID outpatient services. How?
Quick Start is a CSuite solution that helps to accelerate the process of vetting and identifying opportunities in two key areas:
Existing core operations
Identifying opportunities to improve and optimize core operations to offset losses in this area.
New technologies, business initiatives, and strategies for growth
CSuite assists its clients to select and deploy proven value-based solutions that achieve quick results.
The three-step process:
Flash Assessment: Employing a new and efficient process to quickly gather all the facts and assess the readiness of an organization to make the leap to value-based care delivery that also drives growth.
Action plan: Providing a clearly structured plan with all the critical paths identified to become a successful value-based care provider.
Implementation: With a detailed implementation plan that uses Agile Project Management, the c-level advisors closely guide the implementation of value-based growth initiatives.
About CSuite Solutions
CSuite Solutions was formed to attract the most senior and accomplished health care industry executives in their respective fields. They have spent most of their long careers transforming hospitals and major health care systems, physician groups, and other providers into efficient and financially robust operating organizations.
Besides two strategic growth partners, the CSuite Solutions advisory practice has strategic relationships with companies that provide unique healthcare solutions that can accelerate the strategic growth of health systems and other providers.
To learn more about CSuite Solutions call at (813) 866-5100 or email at info@Csuite Solutions.com
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As health care systems in Florida strive to achieve optimal growth, higher productivity, and better service, skilled health care management consultants can serve as a catalyst to these processes. But how can organizations choose a healthcare consulting firm that focuses on positive leadership and fruitful change? Here are some traits to look for in a health care consulting firm, according to Brian Paradis, author of Lead with Imagination.
Brian brings his 25-year experience in the healthcare industry, including his former position of Florida Hospital’s president, to his current work as part of the leadership team at CSuite Solutions.
What to Look for in a Healthcare Quality Management Consultant
Innovative Thinking
A leading healthcare consultant is primarily a problem solver. To offer comprehensive solutions, healthcare consultants need to have critical analysis skills to see the root problem. Understanding the core issue is essential to constructing a strategic, effective work plan that will lead to long-lasting changes.
Any trial-and-error methods will invariably lead to costly errors, waste of time and potential, and lots of frustration.
Communication
Clear, streamlined communication is necessary for converting valuable ideas into consistent actions. A healthcare consultant provides an analysis of an organization’s methods and suggests improvements. To make sure feedback is acceptable, the consultant needs to make it easily comprehensible and applicable, focusing on development rather than criticism.
Adaptability
Healthcare consulting is a dynamic, ever-changing field. Health professionals face a wide range of challenges, many of them unpredictable and irregular.
An outstanding healthcare consultant anticipates concerns, adapts to difficult situations, and adjusts any proposed solutions. This requires a flexible, highly individualized approach that is constantly looking for new and better methods.
Dedication
A successful healthcare consultant must be highly organized, self-motivated, resourceful, and persevering. They need to be willing to go the extra mile for a client, operating under time constraints and traveling when necessary. If applicable, they will talk to the staff and assess the terrain, not limiting their analysis to charts and numbers alone. They won’t stop at acceptable and will always endeavor to improve.
Empathy
Healthcare is more than a merely transactional business. From the top management to the staff and clients, its basis lies in human interactions.
Leadership in healthcare requires more than efficiency – it is empathetic, compassionate, caring, and reassuring. It is flexible and inclusive rather than autocratic and rigid. It is open to feedback and promotes a safe, secure work environment where employees can unlock their full potential. It encourages staff members to speak up, ask for help, raise concerns, or offer suggestions. Brian Paradis simply calls this leading with love and compassion in a recent Inc.com article he was quoted in along with Warren Buffet that focused on corporate leadership skills.
Strategies and Solutions for Healthcare System Growth
CSuite Solutions offers six key programs to help healthcare systems, hospitals, and medical groups grow and develop.
Advisory Services & Strategy Development
DTE (Direct to Employer) Value-based Care
DTU (Direct to Uninsured) Value-based Care
PHMP (Proactive Health Management Plan) Value-based Care
PE (Provider Equation) Direct to Consumer Quality Care
Strategic Growth Partners
CSuite Solutions: Florida Diversified Health Care Management Consultants
The leadership team of CSuite Solutions leverages decades of experience in the healthcare industry to optimize the business models of healthcare systems. To help boost growth and profitability, CSuite Solutions offers various plans that facilitate value-based care, help bridge financial gaps, and drive success.
For more information on healthcare consultants, call CSuite Solutions at (813) 866-5100 or email [email protected]
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A Center of Excellence is a crucial component of a value-based approach to healthcare. In a Center of Excellence, operational delivery of services is refined and perfected so that all aspects of the Quadruple Aim are not only attested but also consistently and positively achieved. These component aims are better health outcomes, improved patient experience, improved staff experience, and lower cost of care. In the shadow of COVID-19, fulfilling the Quadruple Aim is nothing short of miraculous.
COVID-19 is providing ample testing ground for value based care (VBC), accountable care organizations, DTE pay arrangements, and Centers of Excellence. The pandemic exigencies since early 2020 have exposed VBC to challenges and opportunities. that, With its lean approach to health care and agility to assess and adapt efficiently to shifting trends and circumstances, it has have met with impressive results.
One of the challenging opportunities is the growing demand for post-acute care among COVID-19 survivors. David Grabowski, a professor of health policy at the Harvard University Medical School, prophetically coined the term “COVID-19 Centers of Excellence” in reference to dedicated post-acute care facilities for COVID-19 patients. Maintaining and improving the population health of mostly elderly COVID-19 survivors who possess multiple comorbidities calls for nothing less than a Center of Excellence.
Currently, with the continuing infectious spread of COVID-19, attention has focused on:
increased acute-care hospital bed capacity
decreased regulations on telemedicine to encourage its implementation
curtailed non-urgent services and elective surgeries
eased regulatory responsibilities
provided stimulus funding to help struggling providers continue operations
restricted access to residential care settings for the elderly and disabled
However, to date, there has been limited activity focused on addressing the impending need for post-acute care for the patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Not only does the post-acute care system face capacity shortages that are similar to (or worse than) those faced by acute-care hospitals, these settings, especially skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs), are currently serving long-term residents at tremendous risk for infection.
As states begin to identify the impending capacity shortage in post-acute care, they have taken a variety of steps, only some of which are also focused on reducing the risk of infection for those patients and long-term residents already residing within the SNF.
This Client Alert reviews a few of the initial state activities in this area, including the development of the “COVID-19 Centers of Excellence.”
COVID-19 and the Post-Acute Care System
Large-scale projections of post-acute care needs stemming from COVID-19 are emerging or are in process. The full picture is still somewhat malleable at this time. The overall impact of COVID-19 on the health care system offers conflicting interpretations. Some hospitals in hard-hit areas are at capacity and will need to adapt to the long-term post-acute care the surviving COVID-19 patients will need. Hospitals in less-affected regions are operating at below capacity due to the suspension of non-essential or elective services to accommodate social distancing and to prepare for a possible shortage of beds.
Nevertheless, policymakers at the federal and state levels are beginning to prepare for a large number of COVID-19 patients requiring admission to post-acute care facilities by reducing or waiving restrictions to facilitate the patient flow from the hospital to post-acute care. States are being given greater liberty to make decisions that navigate around federal requirements. The few states that have exercised this authority to prepare for the post-acute care surge have embraced dramatically divergent approaches. Several states have reserved entire nursing facilities exclusively for COVID-19 patients.
Authorities in another state issued a directive that all nursing facilities must receive patients who have been treated in hospitals and are now needing post-acute care. COVID-19 testing is prohibited as a prerequisite for admission. Complicated isolation measures are required for incoming patients in tandem with existing isolation requirements to deal with current patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
The divergent approaches regarding the provision of post-acute care generated a host of responses from the general public and from the health policy orbit. David Grabowksi, drawing focus upon the upcoming need for post-acute care services, recommended reserving entire facilities as COVID-19 residential care facilities to safeguard existing patients, guarantee sufficient capacity for dedicated services, and efficiently manage staff and personal protective equipment.
Professor Grabowski employed the term “COVID-19 Centers of Excellence” (CoE) to describe these dedicated facilities. Referring to these dedicated facilities as CoE’s is highly evocative, communicating the message that the post-acute care patients receive will be of the highest quality.
Opportunities for Payers
Health plans can collaborate with states to ensure the safety of COVID-19 patients transitioning to post-acute care without putting other patients at risk. Health plans have a strong incentive to protect vulnerable patients already being served by the special needs facilities.
A challenge facing states and nursing facilities is arranging payment to address the high costs of the post-acute services required for COVID-19 patients. By offering a wide range of payment strategies, health plans can facilitate the providers in the development of COVID-19 post-acute care Centers of Excellence.
Conclusion and Next Steps for States, Plans, and Providers
States, health plans, and care providers are having to prepare and care for the inevitable flood of COVID-19 patients into post-acute care facilities. Stakeholders at every level have no option but to prudently weigh the risks and liabilities of the different management approaches. Monitoring the early and ongoing experiences in Massachusetts and Connecticut who have adopted models that resemble a Center of Excellence and comparing them to the divergent approach followed in New York will help states, health plans, and providers determine which approach to take.
Navigating the uncharted and turbulent waters of the COVID-19 pandemic requires a high level of knowledge, experience, skill, and aptitude. The CSuites Solutions practice consists of highly competent and experienced C-Level executives with diverse skills who serve as trusted strategic advisors to their peers in the healthcare industry. To learn more about how the health care consultancy works, visit the CSuite Solutions website at csuitesolutions.com. Contact the office by phone at (813) 866-5100 or email [email protected].
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Value-based health care is an outcome-based approach to healthcare in which care providers are compensated based on patient health outcomes. This delivery model includes both hospitals and physicians. Under value-based healthcare agreements, care providers are remunerated for aiding patients in the improvement of their health, the reduction in the effects and incidence of chronic disease, and the enjoyment of a healthier life in a verifiable, evidence-based way.
Value-based care differs from a fee-for-service model or capitated approach in terms of how their providers are compensated on the basis of the number of healthcare services they deliver. The “value” in value-based healthcare comes from the measurement of health outcomes against the cost of delivering the outcomes.
The benefits of a value-based healthcare system encompass patients, providers, payers, suppliers, and society as a whole.
Patients spend less money to obtain better health
Managing a chronic illness or condition like diabetes, cancer, obesity, COPD, or high blood pressure can be expensive and time-consuming for patients. Value-based care models emphasize hastening a patient’s recovery from illnesses and injuries and avoiding chronic disease in the first place. As a result, patients have fewer visits to the doctor for medical tests and procedures. They spend less money on prescription medication as both their short-term and long-term health improves.
Providers achieve efficiencies and patients have a higher degree of satisfaction
Providers must may need to invest more time for new prevention-based patient services which also means less time on chronic disease management. Quality and patient engagement measures elevate when the focus is more on value instead of volume. The providers do not have the financial risk that comes with fee-for-service payment systems. Even for-profit providers who can generate a higher value per episode of care can expect to be rewarded under a value-based care model.
Payers control costs and reduce risk
Risk is more effectively mitigated when it is spread across a larger patient population. A healthier population with fewer claims minimizes the drain on payers’ premium pools and investments. Value-based payment also allows payers to be more efficient by bundling payments that cover the full care cycle of the patient or for chronic conditions, covering periods of a year or more.
Suppliers bring prices in line with patient outcomes
Suppliers benefit from being able to align their products and services with positive patient outcomes and reduced costs. This is an important selling point due to rising national health expenditures on prescription drugs. Many stakeholders in the healthcare industry are calling for manufacturers to correlate the prices of drugs to their actual value to patients. Such a process will likely become easier with the growth of individualized therapies.
Society becomes healthier while overall healthcare spending is reduced
People are spending less money to manage chronic diseases, costly hospitalizations, and medical emergencies. In the United States, where healthcare expenditures account for almost 18% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), value-based care promises to reduce the overall cost of healthcare significantly.
Moving from a fee-for-service to a fee-for-value system will take time and the transition has been more difficult than expected. As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve and greater numbers of providers adopt value-based care models, short-term financial setbacks may be seen first before longer-term costs decrease. However, the transition from fee-for-service to fee-for-value has been and is still being embraced as the best method to lower healthcare costs while increasing quality care and helping people lead healthier lives.
About CSuite Solutions
CSuite Solutions works with healthcare providers throughout the United States to deliver innovative solutions that improve patient care while driving efficiencies and profitability. The professional health system advisors assist with direct-to-employer self-funded insurance plans, value-based care, revenue cycle management, and accountable care organizations. Founded by seasoned C-level healthcare executives, CSuite Solutions is expertly positioned to work alongside healthcare systems in an advisory capacity.
To inquire about healthcare consulting, visit the CSuite Solutions website at https://csuitesolutions.com/assessment/.
The following post Exploring the Benefits of Value-Based Healthcare was first published on is available on CSuite Solutions. Read more on:} http://csuitesolutions.com/ Exploring the Benefits of Value-Based Healthcare.
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In healthcare reform, the shift from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement is driving the most profound changes in the healthcare industry. Recent legislation such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is compelling health care organizations to consider more creative and viable alternatives to address concerns regarding quality, cost, and value. Clinical integration may be the way to meet the evolving complex challenges of health care reform.
Becker’s Hospital Review, in an article entitled “The 7 Components of a Clinical Integration Network,” explained clinical integration as “a health network working together, using proven protocols and measures, to improve patient care, decrease cost and demonstrate value to the market.”
Clinical integration is to healthcare what innovation and technology breakthroughs are to product manufacturing and service delivery industries.
Defining the Clinically Integrated Network
In response to the challenges of reform in health care, many providers find themselves joining with other physicians to form Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs). A CIN is a legal entity structured to enable approved collaboration and cooperation among health care providers. Possessing shared goals that encompass value, efficiency, performance, and quality, CINs can garner competitive advantage while achieving better quality and more efficient coordination of care at a more affordable cost. The goal is to be able to negotiate a more favorable reimbursement rate.
The highly coordinated environment of a CIN is able to deliver market value through the health care network as well as provide value/risk contracts by improving the management of the MACRA Quality Payment Program and other state and commercial payment model alternatives. Furthermore, a CIN offers physician independence by providing an alternative to employment for independent community physicians. With a CIN, hospitals, physicians (both employed and independent), and other care providers can coordinate more easily and can work together to meet clinical and financial goals. Also, a CIN enables effective management of population health and coordination of care on a comprehensive scope.
What are the primary characteristics of a CIN?
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a CIN has four main characteristics:
1. Leadership Teams That Include Physicians
CIN governance models must have physicians incorporated into its governing vehicle. Both private and employed physician practices are eligible to form a CIN.
2. Clinical Standards
All CIN members must officially agree to adhere to clinical guidelines and work on activities that improve performance. Performance improvement relates to all aspects and overall approach to care, including quality of treatment, accuracy, efficiency, timeliness, outcome, and satisfaction.
3. Information and Technology
The correct technologies and tools must be utilized to gain the network visibility necessary to transport clinical integration from theory to reality. To provide more coordinated care, information-sharing and performance monitoring are required. CINs need visibility across the care continuum to measure and analyze performance and patient outcomes.
4. Defined and Measurable Improvement
The CIN must demonstrate it is elevating value, not just using its size to negotiate better rates from payers. CINs use data analytics to identify and prove when performance objectives are met and use that information to negotiate superior reimbursement rates.
As health care reform continues to head in the direction of quality and value, CINs will play a central role in the process. Hospitals and physicians should carefully examine whether a CIN offers them the best path to satisfy the “Triple Aim” while being careful not to disrupt value through investment and reimbursement reduction.
Health care providers must develop and perfect care-delivery and value-based models that are effective and efficient to obtain the broader objective of achieving high-value care for patients.
CSuite Solutions works with healthcare providers throughout the United States to deliver innovative solutions that improve patient care while driving efficiencies and profitability. The professional healthcare system advisors at CSuite Solutions assist with direct-to-employer self-funded insurance plans, value-based care, revenue cycle management, and accountable care organizations. Founded by leading C-level healthcare executives with many years of experience, CSuite Solutions is expertly placed to work alongside healthcare systems in an advisory capacity.
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Healthcare Quality Management Consultants Explain What Population Health Management Is and Its Importance
With the explosion of technology across a wide range of industries, the healthcare industry, in particular, has benefited significantly. One of the key focus areas has been in population health management. Leading healthcare consultancy CSuite Solutions offers their expertise in understanding this vital, and growing area by answering some of the most important questions about what it is, how it works, and why it’s important.
What is population health management?
Population health management can be viewed as the aggregation of patient data. Data is collected from multiple health information resources, then analyzed and compiled into a single patient record. This actionable record by healthcare providers allows for the improvement of both financial and clinical results.
How does population health management work?
The goal of population health management is to improve the health outcomes of an identified group using an intelligence tool. This tool will aggregate the data to provide a comprehensive report of each patient from a clinical perspective. From this report, healthcare providers are empowered to track and improve clinical outcomes, while at the same time lowering healthcare costs.
A population health management program will collate clinical, as well as financial and operational data to provide actionable insights that will help improve the healthcare provider’s efficiency and the level of patient care. For the program to deliver useful analyses, the partnership network will need to be well-managed in addition to offering robust care.
An effective population health management program will provide real-time actionable information to clinicians and administrators, enabling them to identify and effectively address any care gaps that exist in the patient group. In doing this, better outcomes, as well as cost savings, can be expected, particularly in populations with chronic disease.
Population health management will prioritize care management looking at improving the patient’s ability to self-manage effectively, improve the management of medication as well as reducing the cost of care.
Why is population health management important?
There are a number of reasons that population health is important, and it all revolves around the fact that it is people-focused. By improving the health of the average American person, there are tangible positive impacts on all aspects of society as a healthier population is going to be more productive than an ailing one, especially if the costs of healthcare interventions can be reduced.
People expect high-quality healthcare, an increased proportion of earnings are being spent on healthcare, whether it be doctor appointments, lab tests, or prescriptions, and the expectation is that healthcare needs to respond commensurately. Central to this idea is balancing improved patient satisfaction for individuals, while also seeking improved levels of health for populations. There is also the additional benefit of the reduced cost of care as population health management offers efficiencies in diagnosis, treatment, and self-care.
This proactive approach that provides improved access to care so that individuals can get the treatment that they need when they need it rather than putting it off until the problem escalates further, resulting in an emergency condition. Population health management also prioritizes better engagement with patients who are empowered to manage their own health better.
CSuite Solutions works with healthcare providers throughout the United States to deliver innovative solutions that improve patient care while driving efficiencies. In addition to offering professional population health management consulting services, they are also able to assist with direct-to-employer self-funded insurance plans, value-based care, revenue cycle management, and accountable care organizations. Founded by leading C-level healthcare executives with many years of experience, CSuite Solutions is expertly placed to work alongside healthcare systems in an advisory capacity.
The next article What is Population Health Management? And Why Is It Important? was originally published on is republished from CSuite Solutions. See more on:} CSuite Solutions website What is Population Health Management? And Why Is It Important?.
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Leading Healthcare Consultancy Answers the Three Most Frequently Asked Questions About Accountable Care Organizations and the Role of ACO Consultants in Driving Performance.
Accountable Care Organizations were formed as a result of the Affordable Care Act, which works to reduce healthcare costs. It does this through actively encouraging hospitals, doctors and other healthcare providers to form networks to coordinate patient care. ACOs also provide financial incentives when care is delivered more efficiently.
While ACOs have been making headlines, very few people understand what they are and how they work. Nationwide ACO consultants aim to educate individuals by sharing their insights into the three most frequently asked questions about ACOs.
What is an accountable care organization?
An ACO aims to share the financial and medical responsibility of offering coordinated care to patients. Made up of a network of hospitals and healthcare providers, the goal is to limit unnecessary spending. This network is built around a primary care physician who is responsible for each patient’s care.
Accountable Care Organizations seek to address the problem of disjointed treatment that lacks a full picture of the patient’s needs. This is accomplished through the development of a consistent network of healthcare providers committed to the coordinated sharing of patient information. Financial incentives further strengthen the coordinate care and dedication to reduce avoidable expenses.
Are ACOs a good option for patients?
Patients still retain full control over their treatment, so while doctors and hospitals are more likely to refer their patients to specialists within their ACO network; patients are still free to see the specialist of their choice. Patients can choose to see specialists or be referred to hospitals outside of the ACO network, and in most cases will not have to pay extra. Importantly, the patient does not have to opt-in to having their information shared within the ACO.
ACOs should make medical care more affordable for patients as there are incentives for doctors and hospitals to be more efficient and keep costs down, so providers are less likely to run unnecessary tests. The reduction of needless appointments saves patients not only time but also additional stress. In the end, the benefits produced by the ACO for both the patient and healthcare providers demonstrate their strong advantages.
How do ACO consultants help?
Top ACO consultants aim to assist individual health care providers and hospitals with ACO development and implementation. They are also able to assist with optimizing the performance of existing ACOs. This assistance can include strategic, financial, and operational support.
ACO Development
For systems in the development phase, an ACO consultant will look at, among other things:
Risk and return
Shared savings and division
Investment requirements
Development of the physician network
ACO Implementation
When it comes to ACO implementation, an ACO consultancy will assist with:
Identifying opportunities
Organizational structure development
Financial structures and modelling
Designing incentive models
ACO Optimization
ACO consultants will work with an existing ACO to help improve performance by analysing existing performance and opportunities for improvement.
They will assess costs and utilisation data related to:
Locations
Procedures
Healthcare providers
Post-care providers
Important pain points include out-of-network leakage, admissions that could have been avoided, and readmissions. They will make recommendations about what infrastructure needs strengthening, as well as engaging physicians to drive improved results.
CSuite Solutions based in Tampa, Florida, is a national strategic advisory firm that specializes in assisting Accountable Care Organizations with the development, implementation and optimization of healthcare networks.
The ACO consultancy was founded by senior health care industry executives with experience in the transformation of hospitals and other major healthcare systems into financially robust operating organizations. Their broad range of experience ensures that they are perfectly positioned to assist ACOs to perform optimally.
Contact Information:
CSuite Solutions
4830 W Kennedy Blvd # 600
Tampa, FL 33609
United States
Stewart Schaffer
(813) 866-5100
csuitesolutions.com
The next post An Explanation of Accountable Care Organizations was originally published on is available on CSuite Solutions. Read more on:} CSuite Solutions website An Explanation of Accountable Care Organizations.
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CSuite Solutions weighs in with answers to some of the most important questions on revenue cycle management for healthcare providers. They offer insights on how revenue cycle management works as well as some of the potential challenges and benefits of a well-managed revenue cycle.
CSuite Solutions is a consulting firm that works with healthcare companies to develop effective strategies for managing their organization. They focus on the areas of population health, self-insured health plans, clinical integration and ACO consulting. But they have found that the area of revenue cycle management is often the most pressing for healthcare providers. Here they answer some of the most frequently asked questions.
What is Revenue Cycle Management, and What Does it Cover?
Healthcare revenue cycle management or RCM is the utilization of billing software specifically in the medical field to track patient-care. It is an end-to-end solution that begins with the registration of a patient and runs to the final payment of that patient’s balance. RCM joins the business and clinical facets of the business. They do this by combining administrative information such as the patient’s name and insurance provider with the treatment that the patient receives and the healthcare data that is collected.
According to the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), these are the factors involved in the revenue cycle of a healthcare facility:
Charge capture
Claim submission
Coding
Patient collections
Preregistration
Registration
Remittance processing
Third-party follow up
Utilization review
What are some of the challenges with managing revenue cycles?
Maintaining robust, reliable policies that are able to withstand the regular changes to healthcare regulations and the ever-updating reimbursement models are challenging. It also has a knock-on effect for payment collection at point-of-service, claim tracking and staff training.
Collection of Payments at Point-of-Service
This is challenging because of the perceived time and effort that it takes to collect payment, even though it is more efficient than follow-ups to try and extract payment. It is difficult as patients often do not have the necessary funds available to make payment upfront. There is also the risk that patients will transfer to another facility if they feel that they are being unduly pressurized.
This can be viewed at the ‘front-end’ revenue cycle management, and staff need to carefully determine Medicaid eligibility, as well as assisting uninsured patients to understand their options.
Claim Tracking
It can be difficult to track the lifecycle of a claim; it is important to be able to see where errors are being made as this can lead to lost revenue. Healthcare providers also need to receive alerts if payers regularly deny claims related to specific codes (procedures).
Staff Training
The root of many claim issues is as a result of human error from the inputting of incorrect codes, and incomplete capture of information, to patient insurance eligibility issues. It is important to prioritize education programs that emphasize correct coding and full documentation of patients.
Why is Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management Important?
It offers a number of benefits; an effective RCM system can:
Reduce the lag between the provision of a service and receipt of payment
Save time through the automation of administrative tasks such as upcoming appointments and payment reminders
Cut down on denied claims through prompts to guide submissions by staff
Provide data that pinpoints where there is room for improvement with a big-picture view of the revenue cycle
Cognitive computing to reduce human error and ensure correct medical codes are assigned
CSuite Solutions understands the importance of a well-run healthcare revenue cycle management. This is why they work closely with healthcare providers throughout the United States to ensure that they have an effective RCM system in place. They work with providers to actively reduce costs and ensure their clients are able to collect outstanding payments efficiently.
The next post Understanding the Importance of Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management was originally seen on is republished from CSuite Solutions. See more on:} CSuite Solutions Consulting Blog Understanding the Importance of Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management.
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Stewart Schaffer is challenging the thought process behind some new and trending executive roles (titles) in healthcare, asking probing questions about the scope of the roles and if they even make sense. In a recent interview for Managed Healthcare Executive magazine, he was interviewed by Nicolas Hamm, who was investigating the qualities needed for filling roles of newer health system C-suite roles such as a new trend in the title and role of “Chief Innovation Officer.”
In fact, the points that Schaffer put forward completely shifted the focus of the article from looking at the qualities needed, to whether the roles even make sense for healthcare organizations. In his position as co-founder and managing partner at CSuite Solutions, a national healthcare advisory firm, he has had extensive experience in top-level positions for healthcare organizations. He also has held senior-level positions in Fortune 50 non-healthcare enterprises and thus his views are based on what he is seeing in practice in the healthcare landscape today through the eyes of a healthcare consultant and also based on his decades of real-world experiences outside the industry.
Healthcare is moving towards a consumer-focused, value-driven approach but it can be difficult for organizations to keep up with the latest trends while also not falling victim to letting trends influence decision-making more than what is prudent. This is forcing them to redefine leadership roles to improve their responses, as well as to drive innovation. As a thought leader in the field of managed healthcare solutions, Schaffer shared his views on two of the newer roles: innovation officer and population health officer.
Chief Innovation Officer
The established view of the role of an innovation officer is that it means taking a fresh look or a new perspective on the way that things have always been done. In practice, this translates to critical thinking to make sense out of healthcare processes, and relationship building to get the whole organization on board when it comes to adopting the necessary changes.
Schaffer’s take is slightly different as he believes that innovation should form an integral part of the job description of every C-suite level executive saying that, “the CEO of a health system should require that every single department head be responsible for innovation within his/her function.” And it should then be the role of the chief strategy officer to coordinate the plans for innovation across the organization. The most important take-away is that by making innovation the sole responsibility of a single executive or department, it disenfranchises or excuses the operating units from a role in organizational innovation that should be a core shared responsibility.
Population Health Officer
The population health role is becoming popular as a way for organizations to offer a more personalized, coordinated care plan for each patient. In most healthcare organizations, this will mean applying a data-driven approach to addressing the needs of their patients and partnering with others to ensure that patients receive the care they need.
Although this approach makes sense, designating a specific position that will be responsible for adopting the policy does not. As Schaffer points out in the Managed Healthcare Executive article, “Rather than create a new department of population health,” Schaffer says, “this function should reside within every operating department and driven by the department head the same as innovation. In fact, population health is only one (albeit a major one) swim lane of an enterprise strategic plan which should be the domain of the chief strategy officer. Unfortunately, facilities planning seems to take up most of the bandwidth of health system strategy departments which impedes their ability to take on what I believe is the more important responsibility of implementing population health.”
His point is that creating a new department for population health shifts the focus away from operating departments and takes the responsibility off each department head who should be focusing on population health much the same as innovation. And again, this should be overseen by a chief strategy officer who should not be focused on facilities planning, but rather the important role of implementing population health (along with innovation) which should be supported by facilities planning.
CSuite Solutions, co-founded by Stewart Schaffer and Stephen R. Mason, former CEO of BayCare Health System headquartered in Tampa, FL, is a leading healthcare advisory firm with many years of experience in helping healthcare organizations define their executive roles so that both the organization and their patients benefit from an innovative, proactive, customer-focused approach to healthcare.
The next blog post Challenging the New Executive Healthcare Roles Like Chief Innovation Officer was first published to is available on CSuite Solutions. Find more on:} http://csuitesolutions.com/ Challenging the New Executive Healthcare Roles Like Chief Innovation Officer.
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Interim Leadership for Healthcare Providers
Are key members of your leadership team in transition or stretched too thin to implement mission-critical strategies? An interim leader may be the solution you need to bridge the resource or knowledge gap needed for breakthroughs.
The Executive Leaders Behind CSuite Solutions
CSuite Solutions was formed to attract the most senior and accomplished health care industry executives in their respective fields. They have spent most of their long careers transforming hospitals and major health care systems, physician groups and other providers into efficient and financially robust organizations. These C-Level executives are now dedicating their talents and connections to helping their peers successfully navigate during these transformative times.
The CSuite Solutions executive leadership team includes former CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CAOs, CSOs and enterprise business development executives all of whom have extensive experience with large healthcare systems. The partners include: Stephen R Mason, Stewart Schaffer, Jim Burkhart, Brian Paradis, and Dennis Phillips.
CSuite Solutions Announces Interim Healthcare Executive Leadership Service
Interim management is often a sourcing option provided by executive recruiting firms. At CSuite Solutions, we approach interim leadership engagements with a long-term healthcare strategy approach. An engagement with CSuite Solutions means we are committed to establishing, and then achieving, goals and objectives that support the organization. Our experienced team of Interim Executives provides stability and insight that enables you to maintain focus on mission and strategy.
The CSuite Difference: We keep your organization moving forward, simply maintaining the status quo is not in our DNA.
CSuite Executives Currently available for Physician Enterprise assignments
The Interim Healthcare Leadership service offers medical group executives, experienced with employed and independent physicians, multi-specialty groups, service line, and institutional settings, for profit and not for profit, integrated delivery systems, ACOs and private practices ranging in size from 7 to 700.
Choosing an interim leader is much more than finding a person with the right skill set(s). The CSuite Solutions interim leadership service provides a qualified, C-level leader with actual past experience in solving complex problems at the highest levels of health care systems. This provides healthcare providers with a unique “interim” solution to their most challenging issues across the enterprise.
In healthcare, interim leadership is a strategic imperative to maintaining transformative momentum within your organization.
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There is a trending topic that is currently the subject of much debate in healthcare circles around America: that of patient-centered care. Patient-centered care has been identified as one of the six key elements of high-quality care by the Institute of Medicine making it a topical conversation in healthcare circles. Increasingly, healthcare consulting companies such as CSuite Solutions are being asked to partner with healthcare systems to integrate this approach.
What is patient-centered care?
Patient-centered care, focuses on the specific health care needs and desired health outcomes of an individual and thus forms the driving force behind every health care decision that is made. Patients are seen to be partnering with their health care provider, and providers are committed to treating patients holistically: offering clinical care, as well as emotional, spiritual, mental, financial and social support.
What are the benefits for healthcare organizations?
There are a number of benefits to healthcare organizations that are willing to make the transition to a patient-centric approach including lowered costs, the opportunity to grow market share as well as improving patient outcomes.
Lowering costs cited as one big benefit of a patient-centric approach
A study by UC Davis found that patient-centered care leads to lower healthcare costs. The collaborative approach between patient and physician results in improved confidence in the diagnosis which reduces, and in some cases eliminates, costly tests and specialist referrals.
Healthcare Providers can gain market share
As patients in the US are becoming better informed of patient-centered care, this offers the opportunity for a competitive advantage for healthcare systems. Patients are choosing to seek out hospitals and providers that actively promote this approach with a study showing that 40% of respondents would switch to a hospital that was more patient-centered.
Improved Patient Outcomes
A patient-centered approach has repeatedly been proven to be the most effective at improving patient health outcomes. By engaging patients and their families, there is a positive impact on emotional health, symptom resolution, and pain control. Additionally, through engagement and education in partnership with the patient and their family, this approach can help reduce the rate of preventable readmissions.
What changes do health systems need to make?
The way that care is delivered has to shift fundamentally which requires a re-working of several key areas. First, the organization’s mission, vision, values, and leadership need to change to align with patient-centered goals. Secondly, the way that care is provided needs to focus on physical comfort, as well as emotional well-being and the approach to care, needs to be collaborative and accessible. And thirdly, patient and family preferences and participation need to be respected and encouraged.
What is the next step for healthcare organizations?
There are a number of challenges to overcome in moving towards a patient-centric approach. CSuite Solutions in Tampa, Florida, is a national strategic advisory that offers healthcare management services and healthcare consulting. Founded by former health system CEOs and C-Level executives with a wide range of health-specific expertise, they are expertly positioned to help healthcare organizations transition to a patient-centric approach.
The next info Patient-Centered Care and What It Means for Healthcare Organizations was originally seen on is republished from CSuite Solutions. Read more on:} CSuite Solutions Consulting Blog Patient-Centered Care and What It Means for Healthcare Organizations.
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IMAGINATIVE LEADERSHIP HAS THE POWER TO TRANSFORM HEALTHCARE DELIVERY, THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE AND HEALTH OUTCOMES.
It has been said that "the healthcare industry is the most complex endeavor on the planet.”
Although it is difficult to state that categorically, there is ring of truth to it. Whether as professionals working in healthcare, or as a patient who has received care, we have all been exposed to the often confusing processes that define healthcare. As leaders in the industry, one of the most important things that we can do is to work together to simplify those processes, both for the wellbeing of staff and caregivers, and our customers, patients, and their families.
The path to simplifying healthcare must begin by imaginative, creative, and innovative thinking to identify the root causes, rather than continuing to treat the symptoms. Central to this approach is recognizing the powerful role that time plays in decision-making in the delivery of care. In the immortal words of Henry David Thoreau, “The price of anything is the amount of time you exchange for it.” And with time as the universal value, it demands our attention from two perspectives for healthcare operations; that of time spent waiting, and time spent with a caregiver.
Ten years ago, working as the chief operating officer for an eight hospital health system, I was tasked with transforming the emergency departments (ED) that were all functioning poorly. After several fruitless attempts we were forced to step back and ask the fundamental question, “why do patients come to the emergency department?” The initial responses were complicated, divergent, and strongly clinical in nature. But finally, the answer was distilled to its essence by one of the front-line managers who shared her straightforward perspective, “to see a doctor.” It was obviously correct. Using this as our one objective we then re-ordered, re-structured and re-organized everything about our approach and decision-making. All other priorities and performance metrics were removed, as were ambiguous and hard-to-measure quality goals. And for the next eighteen months, the only question I asked my staff was, “what is our ‘door to doctor’ time today?” Soon after changing our priorities, we were able to map out the process from end-to-end (both within and outside of the department) with a simplicity and clarity of thought that we hadn’t been able to do successfully in the past.
This complete shift in our thinking led to a change in priorities where staffing schedules of housekeeping were changed to focus on the flow of patients needing beds rather than the typical 9 – 5 staffing approach, as well as the tracking and sequencing of x-rays to be read by radiologists where previously that time had not been tracked in the ED. Each aspect of the process was held under the magnifying glass to understand its effect on “time to doctor,” and then later “time to departure” (which would either result in an admission to the hospital or the decision to discharge to home) as well.
The results on time spent waiting for care were dramatic and lasted long past the first few weeks of implementation. Even an analysis of all the previous measures that looked at staffing efficiency and the patient experience showed significant improvement. By focusing on the single most important aspect, a clear goal for staff was established that made intuitive sense. Reorienting the process by placing the patient at the center meant that efficiency became a natural outcome.
But I don’t think that this is where the story ends. Reducing the waiting time is necessary, but it is not the full picture. A successful result should include the time spent with patients. Healthcare is a relational business, and relationships require focused time. As leaders, the next step important step is to increase and improve the time caregivers spend with patients. Here there needs to be space to develop an understanding of the person, learning about them with a view to allowing for love and compassion to develop rather than focusing solely on the medical issue at hand. This is a two-way process, benefiting both the caregiver and patient, blending both what is seen, and unseen to offer the patient undivided quality time. It is a delicate balance between the art of interaction and the need for a robust, efficient process that is supported by good science.
I am convinced that the answer to simplifying our healthcare system lies in focusing on the amount of time that patients spend waiting to see a care team as well as time spent with caregivers. Only through this dual perspective will we be able to simplify our organizations, build the morale of our staff, and properly serve our customers (and our communities) in a way that is meaningful and sustainable.
Brian Paradis is a senior partner at CSuite Solutions, a strategic advisory firm serving health system leaders across the U.S. Most recently, Paradis served as President of Florida Hospital’s Central Region and as the Chief Financial Officer for the Florida Division of Adventist Health Systems. Brian Paradis recently release his new book "Lead with Imagination" available now on Amazon.com
Find CSuite Solutions on Google Maps: https://maps.google.com/?cid=1154942552544797564
The following information Simplifying Healthcare Using Imaginative Leadership was first published to is courtesy of CSuite Solutions. See more on:} CSuite Solutions Consulting Blog Simplifying Healthcare Using Imaginative Leadership.
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Today’s Health Systems Can Leverage CSuite Solutions’ Considerable Experience to Optimize Its Revenue Cycle Platform
Effective revenue cycle management is one major key to future-proofing healthcare systems in America and is going to require some hard choices and the adoption of new perspectives. Chief among those is a shift in thinking, moving from the view that it is a process, to seeing revenue cycle management as a key organizational asset and developing strategies to maximize that asset.
Brian Paradis, senior partner at CSuite Solutions in Tampa, Florida, is a recognized expert in healthcare revenue cycle management having served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Florida Hospital’s Central Region and as the Chief Financial Officer for the Florida Division of Adventist Health Systems. In a recent article, he noted that “health systems are in a hurry to prepare by making meaningful investments for the future. The challenge is to figure out where to allocate resources to produce the best return.”
As a solution, he proposes that the key to any health care system’s financial strength and resilience should be investment into the optimization of revenue cycles. The turbulent nature of healthcare in the US calls for a new approach to managing revenue cycles with the perspective that it is more than a process and should instead be viewed as a strategic asset.
Revenue cycle management has traditionally been defined as the process that healthcare systems in the United States use to track revenue from patients. The process is initiated when the patient first makes an appointment or enters the healthcare system and ends when all outstanding fees have been settled.
The problems inherent in revenue cycle management have long been a subject of intense debate in healthcare circles, and it is this narrow definition that CSuite Solutions is disrupting. Because effective management of revenue is vital to the continued operation of healthcare organizations, it is imperative that a broader definition be adopted, one that looks at engagement with the broader organization, identifies niche service and technologies, focuses on the development of referral retention strategies and is open to experimentation that may offer profit maximization solutions.
The idea of developing existing niche services and technologies is one that is particularly promising, particularly in the light of statistics that show that one in five working-age Americans struggles to pay their healthcare bills. New data-driven technologies are available that provide access to patient information that has not been available in the past. Organizations have the opportunity to improve workflows, access additional information and reduce the cost of collections and successful implementation has the potential to change the business of health care radically.
Some of these new technologies include the replacement of outdated accounts receivable methodologies that typically write off bad debts after exhausting the internal collection process. With the development of sophisticated databases and algorithms, this process can be shifted to addressing zero-based accounts and using technology to identify whether outstanding accounts should be handled internally or outsourced to a collections agency.
As CSuite Managing Partner, Stephen R. Mason notes, “we see our role as partnering with over-burdened healthcare providers; coming in with a fresh pair of eyes, a unique perspective, a different approach, and many years of experience in different C-level roles in healthcare. This unique perspective allows us to identify and target important areas for growth that might otherwise have been overlooked.”
Brian Paradis is a senior partner at CSuite Solutions, a strategic advisory firm serving health system leaders across the U.S. Most recently, Paradis served as President of Florida Hospital’s Central Region and as the Chief Financial Officer for the Florida Division of Adventist Health Systems. Look for Brian's book "Lead with Imagination" coming in February 2019 where he shares his experience and insights on how healthcare leaders can regain the power to lead and live life in a changing world by using Imaginative Leadership.
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CSuite Solutions, LLC was founded by an elite group of former healthcare system CEOs and C-Level executives in response to a growing need for fresh solutions and new strategic insights into issues faced by healthcare systems. The national strategic advisory firm works alongside industry leaders to offer healthcare consulting, healthcare revenue cycle management and advise on clinical integration and patient-centered care.
CSuite Solutions 4830 W Kennedy Blvd # 600 Tampa, FL 33609 (813) 866-5100
The following post Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management: A Future-Centric Approach was first published to is courtesy of CSuite Solutions. See more on:} http://csuitesolutions.com/ Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management: A Future-Centric Approach.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tampa, Florida -- CSuite Solutions, headquartered in Tampa Florida, is well-known for its partnership team of qualified C-level practitioners that deliver healthcare management advisory services to health systems and healthcare providers throughout the US. In response to the ever-growing need for a well-constructed Provider-Sponsored Health Plan option, CSuite Solutions has expanded its services to better cater to the growing needs of the provider-sponsored health plan niche with it’s launch of Direct to Employer.
Direct to Employer is a provider-sponsored, non-insurance health plan program that has been designed for healthcare systems and hospitals (Providers) to offer to the provider’s employees along with area employers to offer to their employees as well.
“In the current climate, outpatient centers, hospitals, and physician groups (Healthcare Providers or providers), are rewarded mostly for the treatment of illnesses rather than their dedication to preserving and maintaining healthy individuals. This climate creates a system where administering treatments and receiving the revenue is a powerful incentive for practitioners, undermining the ethos of prevention being better than cure,” says Brian Paradis, Senior Partner with CSuite Solutions and former COO of Florida Hospital’s Center Region.
For quite some time now, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)and health providers have lacked the expertise and experience needed to help construct, deploy, grow and manage self funded health plans effectively and in ways that positively affect the bottom line and result in a successful “volume to value” paradigm shift.
Identifying the need for a specialized expertise, CSuite Solutions is now offering Health Providers the assistance they need to power provider-sponsored, self-funded insurance plans for the providers’ own employees along with offering the new PSP health plan to other area employers, especially the smaller employers with 2-50 employees who have significant challenges in offering affordable health care options to their employees.
The new program, called “Direct to Employer” (DTE), was designed by providers for providers. This proprietary self-funded plan allows the healthcare provider direct access to employee groups, patients, and the other populations within their communities, creating a better pathway for managing the health of these individuals. Providers are incentivized with rewards for reducing health care costs and creating savings through the application of patented population health protocols while working alongside area employers and other public and private institutions including local health centers of excellence.
Self-funded health insurance, also referred to as self funded health plans, have long been up for discussion by experienced population health advisors and employers in the United States. While large health systems have expressed their interest in self funded health plans, most remain unaware of the significant upside opportunity for the Healthcare Provider along with the complexities involved in successful deployment and operation of a provider sponsored plan.
In the past, most employers preferred offering their employees fully insured health plans and paid monthly dues to their insurance provider to cover medical claims and costs tied to administering claims filed under the plan. Self funded healthcare plans represent an arrangement where the Health Provider offers employees health and disability benefits using the providers own private funds but also adding a layer of re-insurance or stop loss insurance to minimize and cap potential losses.
With costs for health insurance rising at exponential rates, volume based healthcare and fully-funded insurance plans have made it difficult for health providers and local businesses to offer quality healthcare to their workforce without compromising cost efficiency.
“For ACOs and large health systems in particular, self-funded plans promise a higher level of flexibility, more room for data-driven, population health initiatives and cost-saving benefits,” notes Stewart Schaffer, Managing Partner at CSuite Solutions. Unlike traditional insurance plans, these plans can be designed to address the specific needs of a Healthcare System and the local community employers and its employees. This customization can include focusing more on mental health for companies where employees tend to spend long hours at work and identifying high-risk employees early on in the process to avoid loss of work due to illness and the higher costs of managing an employee (patient) with more serious illnesses.
According to Stephen Mason, Managing Partner at CSuite Solutions and former CEO of BayCare Health System in Tampa, Florida, “The DTE program aims to reduce the speed to market for insurance coverage by providing guidance and a pathway to implementation in six to eight months versus a typical twelve to eighteen-month to two-year implementation timeline for a standard self-funded insurance plan. Speed is not the only benefit, as this program also offers providers the opportunity to negotiate in a ‘free-market’ manner with employers, cutting out the expensive insurance ‘middle man.The cost of entry is as low as $250,000 to $450,000, a huge difference when typical self-funded insurance plans often start at $2 million, sometimes even more.”
Jointly operated by Key Benefit Administrators (KBA) and CSuite Solutions, DTE is managed and administered by some of the top leadership in healthcare systems and third-party administrators (TPAs) in the world. CSuite Solutions alone brings over 200 years worth of combined experience through its partners, who have had great success in clinical integration, network development, provider-based insurance, revenue cycle optimization, volume to value transitions and accountable care organizations. One of the largest non-insurance TPAs in the U.S., KBA has a track record of 30 years when it comes to reducing costs associated with healthcare.
CSUITE and KBA are offering Providers the unprecedented ability to disrupt the current payors and market health plans directly to employers without the participation of an insurance company. The combined knowledge, experience and leadership of these companies provides healthcare systems with a comprehensive, inexpensive solution to get to market quickly, manage revenue cycles efficiently and make and sustain profits.
CSuite Solutions, LLC 4830 W Kennedy Blvd # 600 Tampa, FL 33609 (813) 866-5100 Website: https://csuitesolutions.com/ GMB: https://goo.gl/maps/aUB282zEjQL2
The next information Provider Sponsored Health Plans Have a Bright Future in US Health Systems was originally seen on is courtesy of CSuite Solutions. Find more on:} CSuite Solutions Blog Provider Sponsored Health Plans Have a Bright Future in US Health Systems.
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