Healthcare

In recent years, the use of care management services to provide better patient outcomes has gained momentum. Contributing to this momentum is a desire to generate greater transparency around patient behaviors in Post-Acute Care settings. This setting was the first focus area for the creation of care management services.

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Health Care Advisory Board’s National Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. One of the topics that really struck me was the last presentation about the importance of building a consumer-focused organization and increasing consumer loyalty.

As I help healthcare organizations create effective cost accounting systems, the number one complaint I hear is: “I don’t think this report is accurate” or its second cousin “This just doesn’t look right.” My own father gives me grief because he doesn’t trust accounting systems.

I recently saw an excellent example of offering appropriate care in the appropriate setting when I reviewed my new HORNE healthcare plan. HORNE is offering a new program called “MD Live.” For the first time, our insurance will cover employees who consult a doctor remotely by using a phone, tablet or computer. The next time I feel a cold or the flu coming on, I can visit with a doctor and get the treatment I need without traveling to the doctor’s office. 

As a healthcare consumer, I feel an urgency to do my part to decrease unnecessary cost and improve quality. As a member of HORNE's Healthcare team, I have a greater understanding of why our healthcare system cannot continue in its current state and I've learned that reducing variation and eliminating waste is our “how”; however, since I am not a healthcare provider, my impact is limited in what I can do as a patient as I view my own healthcare, and the care of my loved ones, through a new lens. 

I was offered the opportunity recently to observe a medical examination of a child in Guatemala, and I was able to accept because I didn’t have to leave home. The U.S.-based doctor examined the patient with the help of medical personnel in Guatemala, special instruments designed to transmit high-resolution images, and a high-speed internet connection.

Of course, I had heard about advances in telehealth, but until I saw the clarity of the images on the screen and heard the detail in the sound transmission, I really had no idea how much the field had progressed. We could see inside the child’s ear with detail that rivaled an in-person exam. Her heartbeat was loud and distinct. It was as if we were sitting in her local doctor’s office, conferring with a specialist – which, in a way, we were.

Whether you are a healthcare provider or a patient, it can be challenging to be away from family and friends at such a celebratory time of the year. But the lengths that hospitals and other healthcare facilities will go to spread holiday cheer for patients and staff is truly inspiring. We reached out to some area hospitals and asked them to share their stories.