Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, October 2021

The October HFMA’s Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, sponsored by Kaufman Hall, includes Part 2 HFMA’s of Healthcare 2030, which examines workforce challenges facing healthcare organizations and the types of response that will be required to meet those challenges. Also included is an interview with HFMA’s Todd Nelson, who explains why it is so important for all stakeholders in the United States to work collaboratively toward improving cost effectiveness of health in the United States.

The future of U.S. healthcare

How hiring processes will change as the healthcare workforce becomes more remote
Part 2 of HFMA’s Healthcare 2030 series examines organizational responses to pivotal trends that will affect the workforce over the next decade. A big ongoing change is the shift to work-from-home: “This will be a potential drain for smaller, lower-salary markets that have very good technical people,” predicts Sergio Melgar, executive vice president and CFO with UMass Memorial.

Addressing U.S. healthcare system challenges requires a focus on improving health, not just care
By Eric C. Reese, PhD
If we are to effectively address the huge cost challenges facing the U.S. health system, we must begin to better address the cost effectiveness of health, says Todd Nelson, HFMA’s director of professional practice and partner relationships. And it has to be through a collaborative process involving all stakeholders, he says, including not just hospitals and health systems, physicians and health plans but also patients and their communities, as well as society overall.

Why a focus on SDoH needs to be informed by the right data  
By Tammie L. Jackson, FHFMA, MHA, CHFP
HFMA’s 2021-22 Chair discusses why healthcare organizations seeking to address social determinants of health (SDoH) should use available third-party data about social risk to complement their clinical and claim understanding of SDoH. She also underscore the need for such a focus  as part of a larger effort to improve the overall cost effectiveness of health in the United States.

Data Interoperability

Rising to the moment: How the nation has responded to COVID-19’s challenges by advancing data interoperability
by Therasa Bell and Jessie Laurash
Improved interoperability in healthcare data exchange has been one byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic that may ultimately help improve the delivery of care — as well as its cost effectiveness — in the United States.

Physician strategy

When real estate is part of a physician affiliation strategy, “renters or owners” is a key consideration
Sponsored by Kaufman Hall
By John Andersen and Matthew Bates
When health systems consider using real estate as an incentive in a physician affiliation strategy, they must decide early whether to create physician owners or renters. Strategic considerations will differ significantly depending on the path chosen.

Outpatient care

Study shows reduced hospital readmissions for medically complex patients seen in an outpatient critical care transition clinic
By Deborah Filipek
In a recent study, a large group of patients with medically complex chronic conditions were referred to and seen at an Indianapolis-based outpatient critical care transition clinic saw fewer posthospital inpatient admissions and realized decreased costs of care when compared with those who were referred but did not attend the clinic. HFMA’s Shawn Stack provided insight into the importance of the study.

Note from the editor

Why cost effectiveness of health should be the prime point of focus for healthcare
By Eric C. Reese
One of the goals of this newsletter is to help define this concept and all of its attributes and show why it should be a beacon for the healthcare industry. Here, we provide a quick outline of the premises that will inform this effort.