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Historically, hospitals and health systems have operated somewhat autonomously, treating patients with acute needs, discharging them to the next level of care, and turning their attention to other patients who require immediate intervention. However, there are several evolving dynamics prompting hospitals and health systems to look beyond their walls.
As reimbursement has started to shift away from volume and toward value, hospitals and health systems are seeing the merit of partnerships with skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and other post-acute organizations to improve quality and reduce costs. Likewise, now that hospitals are on the hook for patient outcomes for 90 days postdischarge, they are focused on ways to limit unnecessary readmissions to avoid penalties, and post-acute providers may be helpful in this regard. Hospitals may also be looking to outsource services that augment the hospitals' core competencies. Or, perhaps the health system wants to offer a more convenient experience for patients receiving certain types of care, such as dialysis.
Although post-acute relationships can have value, many acute care organizations are not accustomed to establishing and sustaining these kinds of partnerships. This action brief, sponsored by Option Care, outlines the benefits of a well-designed post-acute relationship and the key steps involved in building one.
The Advantages of Pursuing a Partnership
A well-considered affiliation can offer many rewards. For instance, it can ensure smoother care transitions between acute and non-acute settings, which extends the level of Care from the hospital to the post-acute environment. This can result in shorter lengths of stay and a reduced likelihood of hospital readmissions.
In addition, it can be less expensive to deliver certain types of care outside of the hospital, so a solid relationship with a post-acute provider can lower care costs while maintaining quality, putting a health system in a good position to navigate emerging care models.
Post-acute partnerships can also yield a better use of resources, allowing the hospital to pay more attention to things that support core competencies while relying on the external provider to oversee areas that maybe aren't as critical to the hospital's mission and goals, but are still necessary. For example, if there is a specialty the hospital would like to offer, but the frequency of that service does not warrant a fully staffed...