Appealing to Referral Sources
Growth remains a key objective for home health agencies, especially as they start the new year while addressing COVID-related economic pressures from the prior year. Strengthening relationships with referral sources will drive agency revenues but will require proving demonstrated outcomes such as:
- Deeper patient engagement
- Better medication adherence
- Reduced rehospitalizations
- Enhanced patient satisfaction
- Improved outcomes
A virtual care communication platform reinforces an agency’s dedication to clinical excellence while providing an ability to share valuable data with referral sources. Sarah Walmsley, national director of strategic partnerships at Bayada Home Health Care, shared that “quality assurance measures must be established for a collaborative care model to work… Outcome data should be shared and discussed monthly [with referral sources] to identify if hospitalizations could have been prevented and to put in interventions to prevent future issues.”
Using Synzi to Drive Patient Results and Competitive Differentiation
Home health agencies aiming to expand their partner relationships and patient census are using Synzi to provide hospital- and SNF-level care at home. Synzi’s technology helps clinicians reduce unnecessary and costly trips to the ER and rehospitalizations by:
- Conducting more frequent touchpoints with patients whether by video and/or messaging
- Reminding patients to continue taking prescribed medication as directed in all communications
- Helping patients adhere to their treatment plan by discussing ways to overcome obstacles to exercise and proper nutrition
- Providing support to help patients (and their family caregivers) address feelings of fear, anxiety, depression or stress
Synzi’s RPM solution also helps agencies better monitor patients on key vitals. Patient assessments can be created and conducted to provide insight into the patient’s condition in between virtual and in-person visits. With the reporting dashboard, the home health agency administrator can review each patient’s level of interaction in the communication program and adjust the messaging and plan of care. Based on the data collected, home health clinicians can determine if the patient’s condition is deteriorating and conduct interventions to avoid adverse events.
Preparing for a Future of Risk-Sharing Contracts
With the shifting landscape in reimbursement, home health agencies are future-proofing their care delivery in order to leverage value-based reimbursement. Agencies may be asked to embark on risk-sharing contracts where the agencies are reimbursed only if the patient achieves certain clinical milestones. Reimbursement would be tied to patient “performance” during and after the episode of care. The compensation structure could change; home health staff would be compensated for the results of their care vs. their visits conducted. By offering virtual care via the Synzi platform, agencies are able to show their commitment to better patient communication and care.