Will Prize Incentives Be Enough to Improve Healthcare?

As part of an attempt to bring about improvement and innovation in healthcare, Health and Human Services has launched the aptly-named Investing in Innovation (I2) Initiative. The core of the initiative is a series of challenges that ask software developers to solve a standing problem in the health industry.

The first challenge, which concluded in December of 2011, sought to solve the sometimes rocky transition from hospital to home. The challenge requirements were extensive, but nevertheless, it was tackled by a large number of developers. The winning solution, Axial Transition Suite, serves as an interface between patients and caregivers, allowing both parties to easily communicate and monitor the post-treatment process.

HHS’s second challenge was announced at this week’s Care Innovations Summit. This time, developers are tasked with providing a solution to the tricky process of scheduling post-release follow up appointments. This is an important part of the treatment process that many at HHS feel is too often ignored.

Without question, this is one of the most ambitious moves by HHS in some time, and the introduction of consumer-focused challenges is sure to raise awareness about some of these problems. So far, the initiative has had a solid response, but winning solutions have yet to be implemented.

Tell us in the comments below, if you feel that the I2 Initiative has the potential to answer any of healthcare’s biggest problems. Have you participated in any of the challenges? We’d also love to hear about your experience and solutions!

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Pam Argeris is a thought leader in the Healthcare Industry and possesses extensive, hands-on experience with CMS compliance, and multiple regulatory bodies such as NCQA, JACHO, and DOI. In her role at Merrill Corp., Pam focuses on developing solutions for compliance and quality assurance, delivered in a cost effective manner to improve beneficiary and prospect communications. You can contact Pam at Pamela.Argeris@merrillcorp.com.

Healthcare Needs to Embrace Social Media, But With Caution

“I won't tell you that you have to join Facebook or set up a Twitter account,” says ECRI Institute Director of Risk Management Publications Paul Anderson, “but your patients and staff are using these tools.” In the above video, Anderson explains that there are risks involved in adopting social media in the health industry, but the benefits far outweigh any privacy concerns. Community outreach, patient support, communication, and education are some of the biggest topics in the industry, but ECRI’s recent report, Social Media in Healthcare, found some deeper information as well. We’ve summarized some of ECRI’s findings in today’s blog, but the full report can be found here (free registration required).

What Are Health Facilities Doing in Social Media?

Perhaps the first thing to look at in any conversation about your business is, what are our competitors doing? The answer to that, as far as social media goes, is apparently, ‘a lot.’

ECRI’s report found that, as of June 2011, there were 3,952 social media sites for hospitals in the U.S. That includes 1,018 Facebook pages, 137 blogs, and 548 YouTube channels. YouTube has traditionally been a popular channel in the health industry, because video lends itself well to education and community outreach. Most of the information shared on these channels centers around

• Organizational news and services
• Sharing general news
• Community events
• Success stories and
• Customer outreach

It’s Not Just About Marketing.

Of course, a large part of social media is advertising, but in the health industry, there are far nobler purposes behind the push. The ECRI report contains an in-depth look at some of the more common examples, and references a list of 140 uses for Twitter, which include

…recruiting blood donations, communication during disasters, weight management and support, epidemiological tracking, arranging outpatient care, realtime satisfaction surveys, averse event reporting, and food and product safety alerts.

So, What’s the Plan?

The first step in adopting a social media strategy, according to ECRI, is to plan, plan, and plan. Every aspect of your social presence needs to be clearly defined from the outset, in order to ensure that you are less likely to fall victim to privacy or compliance failure. ECRI also stresses the importance of introducing social media training into basic HIPAA Compliance Training. As the world moves further and further into a tech-oriented landscape, it’s a point we can’t help but agree with.

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Pam Argeris is a thought leader in the Healthcare Industry and possesses extensive, hands-on experience with CMS compliance, and multiple regulatory bodies such as NCQA, JACHO, and DOI. In her role at Merrill Corp., Pam focuses on developing solutions for compliance and quality assurance, delivered in a cost effective manner to improve beneficiary and prospect communications. You can contact Pam at Pamela.Argeris@merrillcorp.com.

Health Execs Ignore the Biggest Pot Hole on the Road to the Future

Healthcare Reform may be the single biggest issue on the horizon for the health industry, but health executives seem to be planning on simply driving around it. According to a recent survey from Towers Watson, reform is the last thing on these execs’ minds.

The Towers Watson survey presents some very interesting statistics, and they all point toward the same conclusion. Health execs are aware of impending reform changes, and they know that the future of the industry will be drastically changed in the next three years.

For example, fully 93% expect cuts in reimbursement levels, and 67% anticipate a shift in the payer mix, with fewer private payers. Just over three-quarters (77%) agree they will need a wider range of skills among their staff. And three-quarters (75%) expect a higher ratio of outpatient to inpatient care, as well as an increased need for primary care capabilities.

However, on the lower end of the survey, the results show how little effort is being put into developing strategies for dealing with these changes.

In terms of their top three greatest business challenges over the next two to three years, respondents cited managing costs (72%), improving quality of care (56%) and managing changes in the payer mix (25%). Far fewer, though, cited collaborating with local providers on community health and wellness services (18%), arguably a critical focus for the future.

What do you see as the primary motivations behind this lack of interest? Do you think the executives are running on a play-it-by-ear mentality? Are they just waiting to see what everyone else is going to do? Tell us your opinions in the comments, and we may respond to some of your ideas in next week’s blog!

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Stock photography by brunette808-STOCK. Pam Argeris is a thought leader in the Healthcare Industry and possesses extensive, hands-on experience with CMS compliance, and multiple regulatory bodies such as NCQA, JACHO, and DOI. In her role at Merrill Corp., Pam focuses on developing solutions for compliance and quality assurance, delivered in a cost effective manner to improve beneficiary and prospect communications. You can contact Pam at Pamela.Argeris@merrillcorp.com.

What Will Healthcare Look Like at the End of 2012?

There is a lot in the health care industry riding on June’s Supreme Court ruling, but the Affordable Care Act isn’t the only thing affecting the future of health care. Looking at continuing trends from 2011, and input from some of the internet’s best medical IT writers, here are five big topics that will dictate the fate of health care throughout this year.

There will be an increase in social media, and social media compliance risks.

Unfortunately for the medical industry, new technologies and compliance breaches go hand-in-hand. 2011 saw a rapid growth in medical professionals using social media for promotion, education, and awareness, and their successwill lead others to follow in their example. As that experimentation continues, mistakes are inevitable.

Technology is growing faster than compliance.

As we’ve reported in the past, Health and Human Services is moving too slowly to keep up with the technology that medical facilities are using. Nothing seems to show that this trend will change over the next twelve months. Over 2012, health facilities should be extremely careful, and should make every effort to triple-check that their efforts are remaining compliant. Any outsourced data or work should be handled by compliance experts.

Artificial Intelligence will improve health diagnoses.

“Siri and IBM’s Watson are starting to be applied to medical questions,” says Daniel Kraft M.D. of Singularity University. “They’ll assist with diagnostics and decision support for both patients and clinicians. Through the cloud, any device will be able to access powerful medical AI.” Cloud computing, Big Data, and AI’s are working together to bring about huge improvements in the way physicians look at and interpret medical data. We expect more effort to be put into rigid controls and compliance in this field, so the industry can make better use of it.

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) will likely go extinct.

Despite creating massive shockwaves in the early part of 2011, the very legislation that created them is most likely going to end them. TechTarget’s Brian Eastwood explains that “…while an EMR does let a physician track patient data and improve his or her care quality, it's an electronic health record (EHR) that can be shared among caregivers and accessed by patients. Given the emphasis that's expected to be placed on data exchange in meaningful use stage 2, don't be surprised to see EMR technology go the way of the dodo.” Along with EMR’s, Eastwood expects HIS and CIS tech to be replaced by the end of the year.

3D printing will become crucial in the medical field.

What started out as a fabrication tool is already making waves in the health industry. In theory, a computer system with a 3D printer could be capable of crafting perfect prosthetics, or even stem cell-based replacements, for damaged skin or limbs. “In the future we’ll probably use 3Dprinting and stem cells to make libraries of replacement parts. It will start with simple tissues and eventually maybe we’ll be printing organs.”

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Pam Argeris is a thought leader in the Healthcare Industry and possesses extensive, hands-on experience with CMS compliance, and multiple regulatory bodies such as NCQA, JACHO, and DOI. In her role at Merrill Corp., Pam focuses on developing solutions for compliance and quality assurance, delivered in a cost effective manner to improve beneficiary and prospect communications. You can contact Pam at Pamela.Argeris@merrillcorp.com.