2016 was a busy year, and from what we can tell so far, 2017 is going to keep us on our toes. To cap the year, we pulled together the most popular content from our blog, white papers and webinars. From the IMPACT Act to care coordination to preferred provider networks and the 2016 election, these are the stories that captured our attention:
How Five Dysfunctions of a Team Make Care Coordination Teams Thrive
Because we’ve seen a heightened interest in how to not only establish care coordination teams, but how to make them successful, we invited Julie Mirkin, Vice President of Care Coordination at NewYork-Presbyterian Health System, to join our final post-acute thought leadership webinar for 2016. Julie shared her strategies on how to build care coordination teams, and how to make those teams effective. Watch the webinar here.
IMPACT Act Readiness Study: Findings from 80 Health Systems
Under the IMPACT Act, new rules were proposed that require discharge planners to share quality and clinical service information with patients as a way to reduce readmissions from post-acute care. CarePort surveyed 80 health systems across the US to learn how they responded to the proposed changes. Read the white paper here.
Three Ways to Be a Better Care Coordination Partner
In October, we discussed why sharing data and coordinating patient care across the continuum is critical as value-based payment programs continue to grow and evolve. Our co-host, Kim Majick, Executive Vice President at Carespring, represented the post-acute perspective; our discussion covered the evolution of care coordination, and how that evolution comes with challenges – and solutions. Watch it here.
What Post-Acute Care Providers Actually Want from Hospital Partners
Skilled nursing facilities and other post-acute providers play critical roles in patient care – and soon will be more financially responsible, too. Despite their integral role, our survey of over 100 SNFs uncovered that they often do not have access to basic information on value-based payment patients and key performance indicators on which health systems and ACOs are measuring them. Without access to relevant patient information and clear quality expectations, successful partnerships are impossible. Without successful partnerships, value-based care is unlikely to succeed. Download the white paper here.
Three Takeaways for Coordinating Post-Acute Care
In August, we discussed “Coordinating Care After Patients Leave the Hospital.” Led by our guest speakers Nate Mast, post-acute strategist, and Ron Drees, director of post-acute services at Mercy Health, the conversation covered the importance of having a connected network of providers that collaborate around care coordination – and how the outcomes of such a network are positive for both providers and patients. Watch here.
Finally, what should we expect in 2017? Nothing is certain, but here are some thoughts:
Over the next four years and beyond, the White House and Congress must address rising healthcare costs. Payment reform is inevitable for the following reasons:
- The U.S. is facing significant cost pressures as the Baby Boomer population ages into Medicare, with the Medicare Trust Fund projected to run out in 2028 at the current rate of healthcare spend.
- U.S. healthcare spending continues to drastically outpace GDP.
As such, there has been and will continue to be bipartisan support for healthcare payment reform. Most recently, MACRA, which creates strong incentives for physicians to manage quality and cost outcomes of their patient populations was passed with broad Democratic and Republican support. Read more.
We look forward to continuing the conversation next year. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to get updates as they happen. Happy New Year.
