Value-based Care is here and has created new challenges for healthcare organizations. This required change has set the healthcare industry on its ear, yet few organizations have taken the first steps needed to ensure smooth transitions with what they will soon be facing.
One of the key risks of Value-based Care is readmission, as it is a costly occurrence for hospitals. According to CMS, approximately 19% Medicare patients are readmitted within 30 days. With a typical readmission costing $11,000 - $17,000, hospitals must be proactive to eliminate unnecessary readmissions in order succeed with the bundled-payment programs.
Here are four strategies to address readmissions and reduce patient costs.
1) Identify and communicate hidden patient risks.
Go beyond the patient clinical details to identify hidden risks. The more information shared with the care team throughout the care episode the better. Take the time to capture the entire medical history from the patient, family members, and caregivers. Include demographic details, psychological characteristics and even social conditions such as living environment, support by an adequate caregiver at home, proper diet and access to transportation. Share the details with entire care team so specific preparations can be made before discharge to ensure quality post-acute care at a skilled nursing facility or home.
2) Establish a collaborative communication channel for the entire care team.
Poor communication and collaboration among healthcare providers is a significant risk to patient outcomes and a hospital's bottom line. With smartphones and computers in front of all clinicians, it is easy to collaborate over secure texting or a clinical collaboration tool. With this approach, the lines of communication remain open to address questions and issues and captures the commentary around the patient. A Case Navigator can manage the collaboration channels to ensure the right people of the care team are included. Be sure your healthcare communication is patient-centric, available to the appropriate care team members inside and outside your organization, and is fully secure, encrypted, and HIPAA-compliant.
3) Develop collaborative post-acute partnerships.
Coordinate with your post-acute partners to improve collaboration after discharge. Hospitals should go beyond just providing the necessary patient record information upon discharge. Post-acute partners including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home healthcare providers should receive more details on the patient's hidden risks and participate in the collaborative communication channel prior to discharge. In addition, the line of real-time healthcare communication should remain open through secure texting or a clinical collaboration tool that will enable post-acute providers to quickly reach the specialists, Case Navigators and primary care physicians when patient issues occur. By developing collaborative partnerships, the entire care team can address problems quickly and avoid readmissions.
4) Increase attention on transitions of care.
A weak link in the chain of patient care episodes is the transition between different levels of care. Hospitals should elevate the role of Case Navigator to improve how all members of the internal and external care team are informed about a patient, plan for the transition and keep the channel of collaboration open. The Case Navigator should also standardize the preparation and follow-up on all patient transitions. This should include ensuring a follow-up visit with a primary care physician, reconciliation of medication, education of patient on recovery and planned check-ins during the first week. Improving the care transitions with a Case Navigator will decrease patient issues and reduce readmissions.
Success with Value-Based Healthcare
Value-based Care provides significant incentives to hospitals to take the steps necessary to manage the cost of patient care. Hospitals that are proactive can improve efficiencies today to avoid struggling with fixed bundled payments and succeed with these programs.
About QliqSOFT
QliqSOFT is THE Clinical Success Solution. Our mobile apps, including our flagship Secure Texting platform, Qliq, help doctors and nurses connect with each other, patients, and caregivers in entirely new ways. Our mission is to bridge the communication gap between care team members and make patient engagement effortless, all while maintaining HIPAA compliance. Founded in 2011, QliqSOFT, Inc. is a leading provider of secure collaboration solutions to over 700 hospital, home healthcare and clinical organizations. For more information about Qliq and its features, please visit www.qliqsoft.com.
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