Healthcare Strategic Growth Blog

Keys to Creating Win-Win Scenarios for Everyone Involved

By Tony Camarata

The weight of the decisions made during payer-provider contract negotiations is lost on no one. The terms and contract details agreed upon during these discussions will considerably impact your operations for at least the next year, if not longer. It’s helpful to remember that payers, too, come to these meetings mindful of the implications and with their own set of financial pressures. But with the right preparation and data insights, your next round of payer negotiations can be your most productive yet. Below are three steps we’d recommend you take before your next payer meeting to ensure a more favorable outcome for all parties involved.

The COVID-19 virus has turned all of our lives upside-down, but in your role as healthcare providers, you're experiencing stresses and concerns that you've never faced before. Our team stands in awe of the courageous work you’re doing. You’re the unsung heroes, sacrificing so much to care for your community. For that, we applaud you!

The Stratasan team is here to offer our help in any way we can. Working from our home offices, we will continue to provide you the same level of support we always have, now just with a slightly altered focus. To that end, here are a few ways we hope to be of assistance:

Uncovering the Diagnosis and Procedure Code Creation Process 

By Carly Farlow, Megan Reeves, and Morgan Atkins

There’s no escaping discussions about the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19, as it’s also called). Every aspect of life has been touched by the spread of it. The respiratory illness COVID-19 was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then, it’s spread internationally. 

What isn’t widely discussed by the general population is a seemingly small detail that has a significant impact upon the medical community—the necessity of virus response to include the creation of new diagnosis and procedure codes. There are several codes that must be created not only to address a new disease through diagnosis but also through testing.

How to Stay Productive and Healthy in a COVID-19 Remote-First World

By Carly Farlow and Jennifer Keller

COVID-19 is throwing us all for a loop in so many ways. Those who are able to, are shifting to a work from home (WFH) reality. Some are experiencing WFH for the first time, under the duress of self-isolation, and for families, with the added bonus of having new office associates... our children. When you’re used to going into an office everyday, shifting to a remote-first work environment can be challenging as you and your team adjust to new rhythms, distractions, schedules, and expectations. Recognizing that this virus may keep us all working remotely for some time, it’s critical that this setup not be looked at as a temporary situation. For the sake of everyone's mental health and job productivity, it’s advisable to take some steps now to make this new arrangement more amenable and pleasant. 

Recruit and Retain the Right Physicians for Your Market

By Lee Ann Lambdin

It’s well documented that there will be a continued shortage of physicians in the U.S. in the years to come. The Association of American Medical Colleges cites that there will be a deficit of between 61,700 and 94,700 physicians by 2025.¹ This knowledge highlights the need for hospitals to regularly conduct a community physician and provider demand analysis to continue to meet the needs of their community, grow service lines, and recruit the physicians they need. In this post, we’ll discuss the best way to do this analysis—the different methodologies used and our recommended process.

Why it’s Critical for Planners to Keep Budget Top-of-Mind

By Aaron Frazier

As strategic planners set their course for growth in the new year, it’s critical for finances to be top-of-mind. Often, the budget isn’t always a primary focus for planners, who are more locked in on market share and growth opportunities. But it’s an important step worth remembering and in this post, we’ll discuss why. We’ll review the following two areas of consideration:

• Do you have all the resources you need to fulfill your plan? If not, what will the cost be to acquire the necessary resources?
• Will the new idea you have planned be profitable? Is it worth the financial risk?

Mindful examination of these questions on the front end will pay off through the year. You’ll hit fewer roadblocks and see more success as you execute upon your growth goals and ideas.

How Patients are Utilizing this Convenient Form of On-demand Care

By Daniel Dreaden

Urgent care centers continue to be a popular alternative for patients in need of care that fits their busy schedules. The convenience of these clinics—with longer hours and broader availability—is appealing to patients seeking fast, reliable relief to minor injuries and illnesses. 

As providers look to meet these needs by opening new urgent care clinics, it helps to know the top diseases being treated at these facilities. The list of diseases shown in the infographic below provides a helpful starting point for urgent care placement discussions. 

The Benefits to Individual Hospitals and the Collective Network

By Chris Graff and Megan Reeves 

A seamless data aggregation process is a priority for any hospital association or state health department interested in equipping their members with reliable market data. The submission, validation, and approval of member facilities’ data should happen effortlessly behind the scenes. Yet for many associations, this process is anything but smooth.

The right data aggregation tool and partner will facilitate a better process, allowing associations to more effectively and efficiently provide their member hospitals with the data they need. In this post, we’ll discuss why the right tool or partner is critical for the overall improvement of healthcare data, as well as for individual hospitals that benefit from having access to more reliable data.

More Efficiently, and Effectively, Manage this Valuable Resource

By Morgan Atkins 

A community Physician Needs Analysis (PNA) is a valuable asset for hospitals looking to meet the needs of their community through service line growth and physician and provider recruitment. But in order to successfully execute a PNA, you first need your physician database (or roster) to be accurate.

The details of a physician database—physician retirement dates, specialties, affiliation status, and so much more—provide a more complete understanding of what’s in your market. This database can help you answer questions such as: Where is there an oversupply (or undersupply) of physicians? What are the referral patterns of the physicians in my service area? Answers to these questions can directly impact your physician strategy.

Don't miss this related post: Top Methodologies for Determining Physician Need

Maintaining an up-to-date physician database can be a tedious, and often manual, process. The challenge? Collecting all the right information and ensuring that the data you have is current, since physicians are often moving or changing affiliations. In this post, we’ll share the sources we use, and strategies we employ, to make the process of maintaining an accurate physician database more feasible.

Leaning into Our Core Values as We Grow

By Jason Moore

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Bob Dylan wrote these lyrics in 1963 (released in 1964) concerning much bigger issues of the world, but they certainly feel applicable for this time of growth at Stratasan. With growth comes change. With change comes challenges. And our challenges are not unique to us. Our goal, though, is to be unique in how we solve them. As we face these challenges on a regular basis, we lean on our core values as a foundation of our approach.