We’re gearing up for what’s in store in the healthcare arena in 2017 by attending HFMA’s Mid-South Institute. Attendees from Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee have gathered to learn of updates in healthcare and how to embrace for the year ahead. Here are a couple of themes that were reinforced during the conference:
- What’s New? – While there is still much uncertainty surrounding the future of healthcare legislation, we can expect the direction to fall in line with the concept of improving the quality of healthcare while lowering cost. Already, we are seeing a shift in reimbursement models from volume based to value based. There is a shift from retroactive care to proactively and predictably managing populations. The electronic health record (EHR) has evolved into a primary resource healthcare providers can use to adapt to the changing healthcare landscape. These changes are attributed to an aging population with increasing chronic disease, increasing service demands, and the need to improve quality while lowering costs. We are learning how the EHR can provide analytics to offer insights in prioritizing interventions and drive predictability. This in turn helps healthcare organizations manage care across communities and meet the goal of improving healthcare while lowering cost.
- Cybersecurity Matters – Criminal attacks against healthcare providers have more than doubled over the past couple of years costing the healthcare system billions of dollars. Over 100 million healthcare records were compromised in 2015 and attacks are expected to increase in number and sophistication. Mike Skinner, Partner in Charge of HORNE Cyber, presented the proper steps for protecting patient data and other sensitive information and explained various offense-oriented cybersecurity strategies. Being proactive when it comes to cyber security is just one way to thrive in the changing environment.
We look forward to the journey that is ahead of us all and are ready to embrace this New Year and era in healthcare.
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About the Co-Author
Stephanie Akin is a healthcare reimbursement and advisory manager at HORNE LLP where she specializes in Medicare and Medicaid cost report preparation for various facilities.