How Post-Acute Providers Can Drive Network Development in 2015

As an ex-hospital CEO, I know that hospitals have been in the driver’s seat in controlling the health care movement in the marketplace for years. Now with the obvious need to stay away from in-patient hospital utilization, there is no question that smart, strategic, and proactive post-acute care providers will recognize the immense opportunity to be in that driver’s seat. What these providers need to recognize is that they should be partnering with the phycians and working to alleviate their fear that the hospitals asire no longer a threat to them. In fact, they, too, are in the driver’s seat as they have the patients – not the hospitals. And, if the physicians and the post-acute providers together develop their own care management networks, they can easily garner the attention of the managed care companies. Hospitals should be nothing more than one of many care management options in the post-acute care management transitional network!

All that being said, 2015 is a year where network development and what it will eventually look like will continue to evolve. Post-acute companies and their CEOs should be aggressively attacking these key population management markets – because hospital executives and most physicians do not know our skilled business, but we sure do. It should be incredibly easy for post-acute providers to use this educational process to exemplify how our services actually can be the most viable alternative. But (and this is key) we have to talk the talk and walk the walk. We not only should be able to explain how a post-acute network is the answer, but more importantly we should be able to demonstrate(with data and clinical outcomes in hand) that we are the most viable alternative for most inpatient acute care. Whether it’s use of technology, staffing to acuity, or a specific post-acute transitional unit, show them that you’re capable of providing the right level of care to patients with rising acuity. Of course, there will always be a need for acute care hospitals, but for the elderly, chronically ill senior population, if they are care managed routinely, they can be treated in post-acute settings before they need hospital level services.

So, to all the post-acute providers and CEOs in the skilled nursing center business, it is time to take control of our future. If you have the consistent, predictable operational and clinical outcomes you need to command respect in the market, go out and take control of the network development process. If you cannot be the sole driving source, then make sure you are at least at the table with all the network development partners. This is a short-term and long-term strategy that all major skilled nursing center providers should be pursuing. It is the future. The networks today might not be exactly what they will look like down the road, but rest assured that the only way to effectively care manage large patient populations will be through very fluid, structured post-acute networks and strong partnerships.