Being in an industry that from time-to-time introduces change tells us to apply a mindset that needs to be keen to anticipate and prepare for changes. As the years have passed on, we witnessed that many have surpassed the boutique mentality while those that cease to evolve and proact simply become extinct. Like all businesses, the understood goal is viability.
One summer in December 2016, during a CHAP Accreditation seminar, a top executive presented that the number of healthcare providers have diminished due to segment risk and consolidation. Today, it has now become obvious as displacement of healthcare providers is currently taking place. The word consolidation in my ears immediately portrays “PACMAN”, an arcade game released in the 1980s where the Pacman gobbles up all the dots in its path; the big and the strong eats up the weak. Analogy from this imaginary perspective and in attempt of noble thought on how this will affect access to post-acute care for our health providers, translated into a common theme of industry viability.
So, with the outcome in mind to help providers become relevant in their areas of service, my sustainability mindset tells me that when we are faced with scarcity, limitations, fears, threats and obstacles, our innate survival instinct seeks scenarios that are viable. To further understand and interact with viability, we need to segment and simplify the trajectory cycle of the home health agency, which if derived from a bigger perspective can be summed into 3 parts.
One – Get the patients for care
Two – Get paid for it
Three – Cycling through
Getting the patients for care would be the processes to:
First, orient the patient and family of the services and benefits being offered. Second is what I call the Community Rooting; it is the process in securing the building blocks of the community, church, neighbors and local organizations to attain common goals. Fundamentally, it is the pathway to building relationships directly or indirectly with the community through joint efforts and shared community programs. Third is delivering value first through compassionate quality care: when patients and their families perceive and receive quality care, value is assigned that brings word of mouth worthy of repeated mentions. Lastly, the business development strategies: this is the agency’s proprietary processes in business development. One widespread practice is giving out agency calendars, pens or Starbucks’ gift cards and other perks.
Getting paid for it means:
One – Qualifying clients according to established rules of the industry and insurance
Two – Delivering care according to best practices that result in achieving desired or acceptable outcomes through clinical standards and quality of care
Three – The financial and administrative decision making, education and functions; this is to support claims and documentations
Then Cycling through:
Cycling through is being able to replicate the process to ensure sustainability and being able to further multiply the process whether through expansion or scalable growth. At this phase, opportunities of efficiency and quality can be applied to ensure the cycle, whether it be through education, consultative assistance, managed service, HR augmentation or restructuring and optimizing technology solutions.
Moreover, in 2015, the US government released its Federal Health IT Strategy that predicted parallel progression all throughout the health spectrum. This modernization plan which spans from 2015 to 2020 simply states that the opportunities to bridge gaps caused by mandatory compliance requirements, portability of records and insurance, clinical intelligence required, repetitive and tedious task, and shortage in clinical or niche segment human capital output can be fulfilled by a complete, intelligent, task and compliance driven technology optimized solution. At Data Soft Logic Corporation, our software and technology has always dwelt upon how we can improve on the opportunities to bridge and close gaps caused by change.
From big picture perspective and supported by more than a decade of successfully providing solutions to this dynamic industry, our words of wisdom can be summarized in two parts:
To be relevant:
Be relevant to the patient
Be relevant to their families and caregiver
Be relevant to the community
Be relevant in the office
Be relevant to the industry
Be relevant in technology
To Fuse with the appropriate solutions’ provider
As we all have come to know, there are still many incremental adaptions that we journey through and maybe some large ones together. So, along the way we need improvements, evolution and innovations which require external mergers from solution providers. Since this spectrum of knowledge is augmented, and each agency’s needs vary as they identify their unique strengths, weakness, threats and opportunities, it is important to be anticipative, lead a trend and be adaptive as a whole.
Fusing with Data Soft Logic means together we are suiting up to be viable and sustainable through interconnection and systems thinking; we can gain strength by becoming part of something larger than ourselves. Consequently, when input comes from a collaborative understanding and adaptive learning, and when proven process workers, technology and thought leaders meld to a common goal, you can be assured that a great solution package is there to meet your needs.
Thank you for reading this article and a pleasure to serve you. For your support and loyalty, Home Health Centre software was named as top Home Health Software by Software Advice 2017, Reviewer’s Choice.
Author: Enoch Cruz, C.E.O.
Source: https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/9-5-federalhealthitstratplanfinal_0.pdf
