In today’s challenging healthcare environment, many hospitals are finding greater financial and clinical success through rehabilitation partnerships.
Support through a rehabilitation joint venture or acute management partner can result in quality improvement, cost savings and high-demand service line optimization. While the healthcare landscape has never been more challenging, this is a time of great opportunity.
Other reasons partnership is preferred by post-acute providers include:
- Improved Patient Experience
- Reduced Capital Expenditure
- Scalability
- Speed to Market
- Ability to Focus on Core Competencies
To help ensure these advantages are achieved, a suitable rehab partner must possess qualities that will produce successful outcomes for the facility, staff and most importantly, its patients. When evaluating a potential partner, the following five qualities are key indicators of success.
1. Clinical and Quality Effectiveness: Providers should look for partners who have experience helping programs achieve top quality certifications while demonstrating clinical effectiveness through reduced readmission rates and better patient outcomes.
2. Proven Track Record in Quickly Adapting to Industry Challenges and Optimizing Performance Based on Need: Suitable partners have already achieved impressive results for other healthcare providers, including helping them rebound faster from COVID-19 than the industry as a whole. A partner should also have access to national rehab data and best practices.
3. Robust Network of Medical Directors: Rehab programs are being impacted by the growing talent shortage, making strong medical directors a key component to any successful program – however, they’re often hard to identify and retain without the right partner.
4. Patient Throughput Management: An effective partner should have a well-organized system for efficiently moving patients through the care continuum. Careful management ensures that patients enter rehab at the right time in their care journey and stay for the appropriate amount of time – reducing readmission rates, lowering per-patient costs and increasing patient satisfaction.
5. Expert Regulatory and Compliance Team: The current changing regulatory environment makes it challenging to assure compliance. An ideal partner includes a highly competent regulatory and compliance team specialized in rehab.
Finding the Right Partner: Key Questions to Ask
Further assess the quality of a potential partner by asking targeted questions:
- How are you able to quickly adapt to the changing healthcare environment?
They should have access to national rehab data from hospitals, hold a proven track record of helping partners succeed through times of adversity all while continuing to provide clinical and operational excellence.
- What are your quality metrics?
A partner that gets results has an evaluation system that goes beyond the minimal government requirements and that assesses the most important performance benchmarks, such as changes in CMI, and discharge-to-community rates.
- What do you do to decrease patient readmission risks?
To effectively minimize readmissions, candidates should have a clear and proven system for maximizing patient readiness for discharge.
- How do you drive clinical efficiency?
Their answer should list practical actions that have a measurable effect on clinical efficiency and infection control.
- What is your denial rate?
Denials are on the rise and lead to significant expenses for providers. Ideal partners utilize thorough compliance and a successful claim appeal process to obtain a low denial rate.
- Do you utilize technology that can flag regulatory issues before they become larger problems?
Implementing flagging software can minimize resources devoted to resolving regulatory problems.
- How do you promote patient advocacy and improve access to care?
Highly-trained clinical liaisons should be prominent figures in partner plans for enhancing both patient access and engagement. Additionally, the right partner will implement the latest best practices to ensure patients in need of inpatient rehab receive care in a safe environment.
- How do you promote provider retention and engagement?
Optimizing retention is critical, as close to half of disengaged employees plan to leave their jobs within a year. Partners should place special focus on training and career development opportunities where hospital employees report lowest satisfaction rates. To combat the critical provider shortage, partners should have access to a strong network of physicians, therapists and nurses.
- Do you utilize technology for improving both provider and patient engagement?
The latest technologies should be used to enhance engagement among physicians, therapists and the patients themselves. Additionally, tech solutions should be leveraged to enhance communication between patients and family members, especially when family is separated by distance or visitor restrictions.
Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services works with more than 300 hospital-based programs nationwide to provide clinical expertise, excellent outcomes and operational efficiency. kindredrehab.com
Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services works with more than 300 hospital-based programs nationwide to bring the best possible clinical and operational outcomes.