Improve revenues through quality and collaboration - not cost-cutting alone

Deloitte published a paper recently, titled "The growing disconnect between virtual health availability and consumer demand."

Some of the advice strikes me as Jack Welch-ian. Deloitte suggests improving bottom-line revenues through cost-cutting?strategies, such as centralized services, 'command centers’ to oversee all operations, lower-cost clinicians, centralized staffing, and other tactics.

Welch’s 1980s tactics might have bolstered companies' short-term profitability. Still, it often came at the expense of job security, worker benefits, and employee morale, affecting the broader landscape of American labor. The long-term implications also sparked discussions about work-life balance, corporate responsibility, and the future of jobs in an increasingly globalized economy.

Does that sound familiar? We see many of the same effects in the fallout from using some of those same old-school measures in healthcare.

There is a much better approach to improving revenues, especially in value-based care models. To Deloitte’s credit, they state, "These findings underscore the need for health system executives to prioritize new strategies, operations capabilities, and technologies to transform care delivery, attract and retain patients, and improve margins.”

Deloitte then warns against new technologies because of limited access to capital and increased scrutiny of return on investment. Yet, digital technologies used with Chronic Care Management programs often require little to zero upfront investment and have billable codes for revenue generation. Large CMS and HHS incentives exist for improved care quality and lower costs in value-based care models. Other payers are expected to implement similar models in the next 24 months.

So please, let’s stop using Welch-ian models, which make everyone unhappy except those with calculators. It’s not 1985.

If transitional care, chronic care management, and all person-care models are used—with high-quality nurse staffing and remote care managers—everything else will follow. The key element is sharing value-based care incentives and bonuses with providers.

Rather than cost-cutting, look to the successful models built on digital technologies and CCM strategies used by Ochsner Health, Unity Point, Prisma Health, and Geisinger. Their revenues - and the level of satisfaction across patients and providers is proof. They’ve seen more referrals, improvements in patient satisfaction scores, quality measures, outcomes, and physician satisfaction.

Deloitte paper: https://lnkd.in/gEt2p3mu

#CCM #CMS #TCM #DIGITALHEALTH #HEALTHCAREQUALITY