The second week of January is when most people begin to stray from — or completely abandon — New Year's resolutions. Hospitals are no different. Rather than slip into old habits, here are five pieces of advice for hospitals to begin 2011 on the right foot in regards to healthcare reform and accountable care organizations.
1. Be intentional and don't rush into things. Although many are panicking about accountable care organizations — and keeping tabs on who's ahead or behind — hospitals should not launch initiatives or partnerships just because a looming deadline is in place. Rather, hospitals need to focus on the overarching concept of value-based healthcare and what measures they can take to prepare for it. "Instead of chasing something, be intentional about what you want to do. Spend time accumulating and analyzing clinical performance data," says Tony Miller, CEO of Carol Corp. — a company that helps providers develop ACOs.
This is also the year to cure ACO fever, those symptoms of panic and urgency. "What has driven that mentality is when people took one piece of healthcare legislation and called it a 'program.' Many hospitals thought that, if they met the program of ACOs, they'd have a new relationship with Medicare," says Mr. Miller
2. Improve your understanding of your hospital's performance. Hospitals should reset their compass and consider new information to help them recognize what will help them deliver high-quality care at a low cost. "Think about how you're going to be more patient-centered," says Mr. Miller. "We might ask clients, 'How many back surgeries do you do?' They might know the answer to that, but it's highly unlikely they can tell you about the patient experience for those back surgeries," says Mr. Miller.
This is the year to move away from the historical method of measuring outcomes with a volume-based approach and begin focusing on the patient perspective. How does the community see your output? How does the patient experience at your hospital compare to your competitors. "If you don't know, well, why don't you know that? You can't keep doing business the same way. The ultimate owner of your output is the patient," says Mr. Miller.
3. Make new friends. ACOs have prompted knee-jerk reactions from hospitals, with many assuming they have to offer or own the entire continuum of healthcare. Rather than adopting an all-or-nothing approach, evaluate the ways your hospital can improve its friendship or collaboration with other healthcare providers. "Think about it from a friendship perspective," says Mr. Miller. "How do I create a collaborative environment with shared vision, incentives and purpose?" The ownership model is not a necessary component of integrated healthcare.
4. Improve time-management. A difficult aspect of healthcare reform, often overlooked, is how to stage changes within hospitals. When the sweeping healthcare reform passed, Medicare didn't implement everything right away. "This resolution is somewhat taking a cue from Medicare itself," says Mr. Miller. "We think the markets reflect that same capability."
It's important for hospitals to recognize the difference between a demo and a prototype. "Demos you do, then stop and evaluate. Prototypes are committed to becoming more value-based. From each prototype, you constantly evolve." In 2011, hospitals need to focus on prototyping strategies rather than pilot or demos, so they can tackle one aspect of reform at a time without pause.
5. Realize some changes within the past year are here to stay. The time for calling healthcare reform a "fad" or "trend" has passed. Regardless of the framework it takes, the healthcare system will permanently cater towards accountability now, according to Mr. Miller." The fact that we've put ourselves on this idea of value-based payment reform is permanent. [Current payment methodology] has to change," says Mr. Miller. There may be less variance in the year ahead as the ideas of healthcare reform become well-accepted themes and hospitals develop committed strategies around them.
Learn more about Carol Corp.
Read more about healthcare and hospitals in 2011:
- 10 Key Trends for Hospitals in 2011
- 8 Key Provisions of Healthcare Reform Taking Effect in 2011
1. Be intentional and don't rush into things. Although many are panicking about accountable care organizations — and keeping tabs on who's ahead or behind — hospitals should not launch initiatives or partnerships just because a looming deadline is in place. Rather, hospitals need to focus on the overarching concept of value-based healthcare and what measures they can take to prepare for it. "Instead of chasing something, be intentional about what you want to do. Spend time accumulating and analyzing clinical performance data," says Tony Miller, CEO of Carol Corp. — a company that helps providers develop ACOs.
This is also the year to cure ACO fever, those symptoms of panic and urgency. "What has driven that mentality is when people took one piece of healthcare legislation and called it a 'program.' Many hospitals thought that, if they met the program of ACOs, they'd have a new relationship with Medicare," says Mr. Miller
2. Improve your understanding of your hospital's performance. Hospitals should reset their compass and consider new information to help them recognize what will help them deliver high-quality care at a low cost. "Think about how you're going to be more patient-centered," says Mr. Miller. "We might ask clients, 'How many back surgeries do you do?' They might know the answer to that, but it's highly unlikely they can tell you about the patient experience for those back surgeries," says Mr. Miller.
This is the year to move away from the historical method of measuring outcomes with a volume-based approach and begin focusing on the patient perspective. How does the community see your output? How does the patient experience at your hospital compare to your competitors. "If you don't know, well, why don't you know that? You can't keep doing business the same way. The ultimate owner of your output is the patient," says Mr. Miller.
3. Make new friends. ACOs have prompted knee-jerk reactions from hospitals, with many assuming they have to offer or own the entire continuum of healthcare. Rather than adopting an all-or-nothing approach, evaluate the ways your hospital can improve its friendship or collaboration with other healthcare providers. "Think about it from a friendship perspective," says Mr. Miller. "How do I create a collaborative environment with shared vision, incentives and purpose?" The ownership model is not a necessary component of integrated healthcare.
4. Improve time-management. A difficult aspect of healthcare reform, often overlooked, is how to stage changes within hospitals. When the sweeping healthcare reform passed, Medicare didn't implement everything right away. "This resolution is somewhat taking a cue from Medicare itself," says Mr. Miller. "We think the markets reflect that same capability."
It's important for hospitals to recognize the difference between a demo and a prototype. "Demos you do, then stop and evaluate. Prototypes are committed to becoming more value-based. From each prototype, you constantly evolve." In 2011, hospitals need to focus on prototyping strategies rather than pilot or demos, so they can tackle one aspect of reform at a time without pause.
5. Realize some changes within the past year are here to stay. The time for calling healthcare reform a "fad" or "trend" has passed. Regardless of the framework it takes, the healthcare system will permanently cater towards accountability now, according to Mr. Miller." The fact that we've put ourselves on this idea of value-based payment reform is permanent. [Current payment methodology] has to change," says Mr. Miller. There may be less variance in the year ahead as the ideas of healthcare reform become well-accepted themes and hospitals develop committed strategies around them.
Learn more about Carol Corp.
Read more about healthcare and hospitals in 2011:
- 10 Key Trends for Hospitals in 2011
- 8 Key Provisions of Healthcare Reform Taking Effect in 2011