The challenges associated with running a post-acute provider business are complex, well-known and even feared: significant staffing shortages, heightened regulatory pressures, uncertainty over payment models and growing demands from patients are just some. While industry headlines announce the latest round of news that keep post-acute executives awake at night, less attention is given to real, actionable solutions that could offset some of the worst impacts from those market drivers. At the 2019 NAHC annual conference, three post-acute leaders offered exactly that in our Forcura Influencer series: solutions that can keep your staff engaged, processes that improve outcomes and clinician satisfaction, and technology that will help you do more patient care with less overhead. The short-hand formula is people + process + technology = success.
People
Leave your staff out of the decision making, or wondering how they might personally fare when new regulations target their profession (such as therapists under PDGM), and you’ll be penalized with high turnover and employees who don’t feel connected to your business’s success or failure. Here’s where Sue Ciaglia, chief operating officer at Custom Home Health (CHH), offers her evidence-based advice: make sure your leadership reflects all aspects of the care you deliver. As a physical therapist herself and a c-level executive, Sue advocates that “therapists have to be part of the solution, even under PDGM.” This approach equates to Custom Home Health’s therapy staff feeling confident that their skills are valued, and more engaged and loyal to CHH as an employer.
Process
With shrinking margins and substantial additions to workflow, many staff impacted by PDGM are under the gun to uphold productivity and quality goals, while learning new requirements, and delivering care to a larger population. Burn out can come quickly and devastate a clinical team who wants most of all to advocate for their patients. The solution? Cindy Campbell, Director of Operational Consulting at Fazzi Associates, published the findings from her Master’s degree capstone project around this very issue, and validated that a process that sufficiently prepares clinical staff on what they’ll encounter while in the field is paramount. This includes hands-on, reinforced training on the technology and tools they’ll use, as well as best practices that consistently deliver the best patient outcomes. Address those areas with consistent, high-value processes, and not only will your clinical team deliver better care, the clinicians themselves will feel more empowered and more satisfied with their careers.
Technology
What’s the answer to the enormous challenge of an ever-growing population who requires post-acute care, especially in the home, with fewer clinicians and office staff available to deliver that treatment? Brent Korte, executive director of EvergreenHealth Home Care, offers technology as the means to bridge this tremendous gap. Not only can technology like in-home sensors and wearables enable remote care for a larger population at a lower cost, more patients are demanding a technology-first response. If more technology is the future, then wise business leaders will remember the lessons from Cindy and Sue: ensure your people are engaged and thoroughly trained on that tech’s purchase, purpose and value in treating patients wherever they may be. It’s these proactive businesses who will see the best results.
Forcura is a staunch advocate of the people + process + technology formula, and have seen the power it yields when adopted by our clients. When the right people are engaged, and implement a process that streamlines workflows and decision making, not only do our clients realize a better return on our own technology, they see material gains across their operations and finances. Having partnered now with over 200 clients nationally, we are ready to help you introduce this formula for success in your post-acute business. Contact us today!
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As Forcura's Brand Strategy Manager, Kate brings a robust background and knowledge of the healthcare and post-acute industry to Forcura. She also represents Forcura as a social media ambassador at events around the country, is an on-camera reporter and interviewer, and host of our Innovate Jax podcast. |
