The Biggest Loser?

A recent article* named home health as a 'strong loser' if health care reform is passed. We beg to differ. The reason stated is the expected reimbursement cuts. Cuts are always difficult. We applaud and support the efforts being led by NAHC and others to reduce or eliminate the proposed cuts. However, difficult times have a way of eliminating the weak and strengthening the strong. Is your organization efficient and effective today? Or are there redundant, time-consuming processes?

Home care staff, from aides to executives and everyone in between, is dedicated. Most are in the profession for all the right reasons - a sincere desire to help the ill and frail. But the industry hides a dirty secret. A secret we only admit to ourselves when we are sure no one else can hear. There is a lot of inefficiency and waste in home care. Not because anyone is raking in ridiculous bonuses, taking luxury trips on the agency's dime or buying $27,000 umbrella stands. No, our waste is far more mundane.
It's clinicians spending several hours a day in the office completing paperwork and other processes. It's the cost of paper, ink, clerical time and filing space to maintain paper records. Waste is found in too many missed appointments. And in clinicians having to call the office to ask for directions. Or clinicians charting at home at night, hoping they accurately remember each visit. The list goes on and on.
We have lots of reasons for the inefficiency and waste. We are familiar and comfortable with our current processes. Our clinicians have heard that laptops take too long. Clinicians complain that patients don't want a laptop in the home. We just don't trust a computer to keep our charts safe. We don't understand the technology behind an EMR - and we don't want to entrust our business into what we can't personally control. And the classic - we just can't afford an electronic medical record system.

The truth is that we can't afford to keep doing business as it has always been done. The truth is that those who do not wring every drop of efficiency and effectiveness from every resource will not make it. Yes, there will be some home care and hospice agencies that lose. Only those who implement proven technology, streamlined processes and best practices will grow stronger. And those organizations will not only survive - they will prosper. They will prosper in an environment where aging baby boomers who prefer care in their own homes will create growth opportunities. The strong will prosper as effective and cost-efficient treatment protocols are enforced - and home care is nothing if not exceptionally effective and cost-efficient.

Where is waste hiding in your organization? What can you automate and streamline? How will you ensure prosperity for your organization and exceptional care for your patients?

*Health Leaders July 27, 2009