Nursing Burnout and Costs: Reflecting on Common Drivers of Hospital Financial Woes

Health Data Analytics Institute | March 8, 2024

A quick search online will show that most individuals go into the field of nursing for similar reasons; the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sums it up nicely, citing nurses have “…a desire to serve others…a personal calling…and a desire to work in the [healthcare] field with the sick, in a noble and caring profession.” As a registered nurse who worked at the bedside for more than seven years, HDAI’s Emily Hightower, RN, CPN, MSN can attest that these are the same reasons she went into the field. Her passion for nursing propelled her through most of those years, despite demanding situations. Her experience allowed her to work as a nurse in Haiti, Tanzania, and Malawi. While there are some vast differences among those countries and the United States, a common theme did emerge: nurses are short staffed and burned out everywhere. Nursing is a highly respected field, and according to Nursing World it “has been ranked for 23 years straight as the most ethical and honest profession”. So, it begs the question…if nurses are honorable, ethical, and passionate, why are the rates of nurses fleeing the profession so high?

Takeaways from attaining health equity through coordination

MobiHealthNews | March 13, 2024

During a fireside chat style discussion at HIMSS24 on Wednesday, “Achieving Equity through Coordinated Healthcare,” experts discussed how exchanging health information can bridge gaps in health equity and the innovations transforming healthcare access. Michael Jackson, VP and global head of industries at DocuSign. moderated a discussion with Luis Belen, CEO of the National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved (NHIT), and Stanley Campbell, CEO of EagleForce Associates, focused on honing in on social determinants of health as a way to improve community access and healthcare for underserved communities. NHIT looks to achieve this by working with state health information exchanges to work from the bottom to the top to reach community partners looking to utilize data, while not straining already fatigued resources. “Data for the sake of data is useless unless we are using it to leverage social determinants and improve community health. We have found broadband access is a super determinant of health, meaning it far outweighs other social determinants of health,” said Belen.

New CMMI Innovation Models Support Digitally Enabled Care

Manatt | March 11, 2024

With the recent announcements of two new innovation models, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is recognizing the role of digitally enabled care in improving access and outcomes. The Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) model will issue cooperative agreements to up to 15 state Medicaid agencies to participate in a ten-year payment and care delivery model to develop and implement a whole-person approach to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care for individuals covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). To support development and implementation, participating state Medicaid agencies will be eligible for up to $17 million in funding and technical assistance. CMS intends to release a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in Spring 2024 with additional information ahead of the January 2025 model go-live date. Manatt analyzed the TMaH model’s key initiatives and outlined considerations for state Medicaid agencies in a recent Manatt Health Highlights newsletter.

Why health care providers and facilities need to transition to value-based care

Medical Economics | March 11, 2024

Over the past decade, the health care industry has shifted to value-based care, albeit on an incremental basis. These efforts deserve praise and are the result of intentional, hard work. Based on observations from the consulting team at FORVIS, we found that this shift is variable in maturity across key value-based areas. That is, organizations may be further along in patient engagement and care coordination than other areas like data analytics and provider alignment. The cross-sectional nature of value-based care means that an organization’s transition to value, overall, is only as strong as its weakest link. We believe there is urgency to fully transition to value-based care to seize the financial sustainability opportunity that a value-based operating model presents. Those opportunities are at the reimbursement level (payer incentives) and in driving efficiency within the care delivery model (cost of care). The benefits of value-based care are well documented and easy to appreciate from a patient perspective.