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View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
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View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
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Learn MoreThis blog post is taken from a recent interview HealthStream conducted with Joanne Aquilina, CFO at Bethesda Health in South Florida. We talked about her view of the current healthcare financial climate and asker her to forecast what’s ahead. This post excerpts the conversation.
Ms. Aquilina agrees the key to achieving good patient and financial outcomes is strong physician relationships. She highlights the importance of the CFO’s commitment to this end. “Over the last two to three years, my involvement with physicians has grown significantly. I am part of a team that is focused on improving clinical documentation by upgrading the process and technology used by our clinical documentation improvement specialists who round on patient floors to verify doctors are documenting appropriately.” Appropriate documentation is critical for coding accuracy, which, in turn, ensures appropriate reimbursement from payors, benefitting the physician and the hospital.
With the advent of Medicare bundled payments, hospitals and physicians are now partnering to manage patient care from the acute to post-acute setting.” As a CFO, Ms. Aquilina says, “I am involved with these opportunities, whether it’s about optimizing technology or establishing a patient navigator role at the hospital.” She and her team work with physicians to follow the care of patients for 30 and 90 days after they leave the hospital to appropriately manage bundled payments and avoid costly readmissions.
Collaboration, Facilitated By Clinically Integrated Networks
Ms. Aquilina sees the formation of clinically integrated networks (CIN) as the next level of collaboration between CFOs and physicians. As healthcare reimbursement moves to a value-based care model, the CIN works to improve patient care while reducing operating costs and redundancy. Employed and affiliated physicians negotiate collectively with payers on reimbursement arrangements.
By combining several small care systems into one that connects physicians, hospitals, and post-acute providers, networks can improve efficiency and quality. The ability to share patients’ clinical and financial data across the network creates a more complete view of the patient than the more siloed, traditional fee-for-service model.
“Our CIN is still in its infancy,” she says. “We haven’t yet applied for Medicare’s Shared Savings Plan or formalized any agreements with our managed care partners, but we’re seeing increased interest from our medical staff providers. Based on our prior partnerships, doctors are welcoming the opportunity to offer high quality care as we manage the topline – the revenue side – together.”
The Power and Role of MACRA
Another opportunity for collaboration between physicians and the CFO is the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, better known as MACRA. “We have a team working with our physicians from a technology standpoint to make sure our EHR system is set up to comply with all MACRA components,” explains Ms. Aquilina. “I think they’re on the right path,” adding, “one of our primary care physicians is leading the charge to educate the rest of our employed physicians.”
She believes physicians respond better hearing from a peer rather than hearing from their hospital employer’s C-suite. A director on her staff shares data with the doctors and works individually with each practice, communicating the implications of non-compliance.
A Need to Reduce the Stress of Documentation and Complex EHR Systems
When it comes to documentation and EHR issues in general, the biggest stressor for physicians, she says, is the sheer number of mandated requirements. “This has added time to their day. Their biggest concern is the time it takes with each patient, especially a new patient, to check off each bell and whistle in the electronic program versus simply facing the patient and talking to them.” At least one of Bethesda’s affiliated physicians has hired scribes in his practice to enter information on the computer so he can focus on his patient, notes Ms. Aquilina.
For some physicians, Bethesda’s EHR upgrade to better accommodate MACRA-required changes was challenging. Others took it in stride. “Tech-savvy doctors viewed going from the old system to the new system as something they could easily manage,” she explains.
This article is taken from our recent complimentary RQI-focused eBook, The Dollars Are in the Details: Protecting Your Bottom Line in the Face of Change. Download the eBook here.
Expand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream's solutions allow your healthcare workforce to be confident and competent with the knowledge they are upholding the highest of standards.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsDelivers everything you need to request, gather, and validate information about a provider to create a single source of truth for downstream processes.
View All CredentialingExperience standardized and centralized healthcare credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsImprove the preparedness of your staff, increase survival rates, and cut costs with the advanced resuscitation training services from HealthStream.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All Scheduling & Capacity ManagementHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
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