Financial Sustainability Report: November 2020

The November 2020 Financial Sustainability Report, sponsored by Kaufman Hall, explores the long-term implications for hospitals and health systems of the deferral of elective procedures at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it provides insights into healthcare organizations’ need for consumer-focused strategies. Other topics include 340B compliance and revenue cycle redesign after COVID-19.

COVID-19

COVID-19-deferred care: The crisis within the crisis
By Ezra Mehlman and Dan Mendelson
The cancelation of elective procedures by hospitals and health systems in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on hospitals and health. Results of a survey provide perspectives of health system leaders on the longer-term implications of that move.

Consumerism

3 steps for executing an effective consumer-driven physician strategy
By Robert A. Dickinson, Pam Nicholson, and Rick Ward, MD
Health system leaders should work with physicians to build on important lessons learned from COVID-19 to continue to make the consumer experience of healthcare more efficient and personal.

Hospitals face challenge in finding healthcare’s ‘missing consumer’
Sponsored by Kaufman Hall
By Paul Crnkovich
A provider’s ability to regain 90% or 95% of its pre-pandemic volumes will have an enormous impact on its margins and future operations. Accomplishing that goal requires a deep understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the ongoing shifts in how consumers access and experience healthcare services.

340B Drug Pricing Program

340B Program success depends on the quality of self-auditing
By Brian Matney, CPA, CHFP
Healthcare organizations that are covered entities in the 340B Drug Pricing Program should self-audit their compliance with the program. Self-auditing is necessary to ensure the program continues to deliver its important benefits for rural communities and communities serving a disproportionate share of indigent patients.

Population Health Management

How a West Texas hospital used a PSH to improve outcomes and cut costs 
By Jasper K. Mesarch, DO, MBA, FASA; Jeffrey N. Rubin, DO; Adam H. Adler, MD; Elizabeth Snyder, MBA; and Marc E. Koch, MD, MBA, FASA
The experience of University Medical Center of El Paso in developing a perioperative surgical home (PSH) for geriatric hip fractures provides insight into how such an approach can help improve patient access and outcomes while reducing costs of care.

Revenue Cycle Management

Commentary
Healthcare revenue cycle leaders, it’s your move
By Lucy Zielinski
COVID-19 has had a severe impact on healthcare providers’ fee-for-service revenue, making it necessary for them to reconstruct the revenue cycle and prepare more for value-based care. Some basic principles of chess can inform their strategy.