Healthcare reform has been a decades-long pursuit; however, participation in past efforts was urged with more of a gentle nudge than a clear decree. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), on the other hand, puts teeth into payment reform by way of financial and legislative mandates that require organizational transformation.
Despite imminent change, a recent survey of hospital and health system executives published by the Healthcare Financial Management Association revealed that just 20% of respondents are “very prepared” and believe they have the necessary mechanisms in place to manage the conversion to value-based payment models. In other words, far too many provider organizations are hanging onto fading productivity-based systems and have yet to position themselves properly for immediate or long-term changes.
Irrespective of beliefs or expectations regarding the effectiveness of payment reform, resisting change or simply bracing for it is not sustainable – nor is it a strategy. Quite simply, business as usual will lead to no business at all. To survive within the evolving healthcare landscape, hospitals and healthcare systems must find a way to anticipate and prepare for immediate changes coming down the pike while strategically positioning for the future.
Positioning strategies that are designed to drive organizations toward a desirable future state must account for critical reform implications, including the following:
A comprehensive understanding of these critical implications is not only essential for evolving with the changing healthcare climate but pivotal in designing long-term positioning strategies and achieving an optimal organizational end state.
To learn more about positioning strategies, read the full article.
Published February 12, 2014