AMT Task 3: Current National Healthcare Trends and Policy Initiatives Affecting Healthcare
AMT Task 3
Cassandra Davenport
ID:000366484
Program: MBA, Healthcare Management, 2/1/14
Mentor: Rusty Lynch
931-580-9182
Chapel Hill, TN Central Time Zone cdaven5@wgu.edu Current National Healthcare Trends and Policy Initiatives Affecting Healthcare Healthcare is in a constant state of change with movements that impact rates, access and quality of care. Hospitals have become more competitive due to the rising cost of care delivery and the reduction in reimbursement from payers. This causes difficulty in delivering quality care to all patients, which is being measured by mandated patient perception surveys, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). HCAHPS scores are part of value based purchasing, which was established as part of the Affordable Care Act. This pay-for-performance metric of patient satisfaction impacts payment, yet if hospitals can’t afford to hire enough staff to assure patients feel satisfied, it is a vicious cycle, so they must be resourceful and innovative. Physicians are feeling the pressure to compete as well and often feel that their treatment decisions are based on insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid decisions. The demands on physicians has caused fewer people to pursue the medical field as a career.
Trinity Community Hospital is not immune to the rising cost of healthcare, while consumers and payers downward trend in spending appears to not be sustainable for the future (AFSCME, 2015). Costs must be decreased by the hospital which causes difficulty in providing quality healthcare to the patients. Trinity Community Hospital safeguards the quality of patient care delivered by ensuring that high quality patient care and service excellence is set as a priority for staff, so it is important to remain knowledgeable of the trends that impact healthcare nationally and how those trends will impact Trinity in the areas of Orthopedics, Cardiovascular services and Cancer
Trends
Cassandra Davenport
ID:000366484
Program: MBA, Healthcare Management, 2/1/14
Mentor: Rusty Lynch
931-580-9182
Chapel Hill, TN Central Time Zone cdaven5@wgu.edu Current National Healthcare Trends and Policy Initiatives Affecting Healthcare Healthcare is in a constant state of change with movements that impact rates, access and quality of care. Hospitals have become more competitive due to the rising cost of care delivery and the reduction in reimbursement from payers. This causes difficulty in delivering quality care to all patients, which is being measured by mandated patient perception surveys, Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). HCAHPS scores are part of value based purchasing, which was established as part of the Affordable Care Act. This pay-for-performance metric of patient satisfaction impacts payment, yet if hospitals can’t afford to hire enough staff to assure patients feel satisfied, it is a vicious cycle, so they must be resourceful and innovative. Physicians are feeling the pressure to compete as well and often feel that their treatment decisions are based on insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid decisions. The demands on physicians has caused fewer people to pursue the medical field as a career.
Trinity Community Hospital is not immune to the rising cost of healthcare, while consumers and payers downward trend in spending appears to not be sustainable for the future (AFSCME, 2015). Costs must be decreased by the hospital which causes difficulty in providing quality healthcare to the patients. Trinity Community Hospital safeguards the quality of patient care delivered by ensuring that high quality patient care and service excellence is set as a priority for staff, so it is important to remain knowledgeable of the trends that impact healthcare nationally and how those trends will impact Trinity in the areas of Orthopedics, Cardiovascular services and Cancer
Trends