Ken Kaufman, CEO of healthcare strategy firm Kaufman Hall, recommended five strategies that hospitals and health systems can use to fix their system around their largest payor, Medicare — a task he said has become “an ethical and business imperative for physicians and the nation’s hospitals and health systems.”
1. Lower expenses associated with care. Hospital management teams and boards must know their current adjusted Medicare cost per discharge and what trends contribute to those direct and indirect costs.
2. Reduce the number of services provided per episode of care. In order to reduce the amount of services, hospital management teams and boards must aggressively pursue the reduction of their current utilization rates for Medicare patients. This could include eliminating unnecessary diagnostic testing, admissions and readmissions. Rates should also be reported and shared among all outlets of the hospital communication chain, especially as bundled payments loom as a future option.
3. Redesign care to improve care value. Hospitals can design different “microsystems” — which are subgroups of all the different components, policies and staff within a hospital — for various conditions or patient groups. A high-priority microsystem would be focusing on the needs and costs of Medicare patients with multiple chronic conditions, according to the article. Case management and the collaborative model are the core fabrics to help design that microsystem.
4. Implement a first-class palliative care program. Installing a palliative care program in which physicians take the time to discuss the right level of care with the expected outcome could heed the wishes of patients and their families as well as save costs per discharged patient, Mr. Kaufman said in the article.
5. Develop a world view. Healthcare, medicine, technology and discovery are advancing at a more rapid pace than ever, so hospital and health system executives must consider all points of view before moving forward with certain aspects of their healthcare executive strategies.
Related Articles on Medicare:
Healthcare Reform: Two Years Gone, Now What’s on the Horizon?
93% of Healthcare Providers Say Medicare is Fair With Reimbursements
6 Ways Hospitals Can Survive the Onslaught of Medicare Cuts
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
