Subscribe via RSSEvent Recap: Healthcare’s Changing Landscape
by Erin Hatch, Weber Thompson
On April 26th, SMPS Seattle hosted a panel discussion with experts in the healthcare field at the Washington Athletic Club. The event packed the house! It was an excellent overview of the ways that healthcare delivery, facility design and planning is changing due regulations, technology, and patient needs. In case you missed it, we’ve summarized a few of the questions and discussion items below.
A big thank you to our presenters!
Moderator: Bill Foulkes, National VP of Healthcare, Cumming Corporation
Nicole Study-Wenzel, Director of Major Capital Projects, MultiCare Health System
J. Michael Marsh, President & CEO, Overlake Medical Center
Larry Godt, President, Emerge Business Strategies
Marty Francois, Director of Design & Construction Management, UW Medical Center
Betsy Braun, Administrative Director of Facilities, Virginia Mason Medical Center
Moderator Question: How do you see healthcare in the PNW?
Nicole: The speed of change is rapid in the healthcare market. The way healthcare is paid plays a prominent role. Multicare has had to adapt quickly and that has been tough.
J. Michael: Healthcare has been a busy market. It’s about the financial incentives. We see the three main components to affect healthcare as:
- Creating value (consumerism)
- Clinical reliability
- Population health (managing care beyond the hospitals)
The use rate of hospitals in the PNW is the lowest in the country—population density versus number of hospital beds used. With the aging population, the future of hospitals will be strong.
Larry: Value needs to be delivered differently; even redesign the value stream for healthcare. We need to anticipate the changes and be prepared operationally to adapt.
Marty: We are seeing more healthcare reimbursements from Medicare recently versus commercial payments. Because of the Medicare reimbursement structure, our facilities are busier but only recoup the same amount or less payment than if patients had traditional private insurance.
Betsy: VMMC follows the IHI (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) Triple Aim model which is an initiative with the goal of optimizing healthcare performance. It is based on three main factors:
- Find ways to drive down the cost of healthcare
- Improve population health
- Improve patient care
Additionally, we try to ensure provider satisfaction because a happy doctor equates to healthier patients.
Moderator Question: How have regulation changes made an impact?
Nicole: The regulation change regarding hospital facility fees caused us to re-evaluate some of our planning. The wound care clinic in our hospital was slated to be relocated but the regulation stipulated that it needed to be within 250’ from the hospital in order to bill for the fee.
Betsy: VMMC is approaching its 100-year anniversary. The strategies for VMMC are nimble and ever-evolving.
Marty: UWMC is trying to grow but expanding the current hospital base is not likely. Currently, we have heard that starting in 2017, two major private insurance companies will not pay facility fees. In typical fashion, Medicare leads the trend in healthcare reimbursables.
Audience Question: Do any of your systems encourage wellness in the community?
Larry: For our healthcare client in California whose specialty is diabetes, we partnered with schools to focus on wellness.
Betsy: Insurance does not pay for wellness visits but that is changing slowly. VMMC facilities are refocusing on community health by introducing apps, web-based portals, electronic access to care, etc. all in an effort to promote health upfront because we know patients don’t want to go to hospitals or clinics.
J. Michael: There is no business model for population health but managing “the” population is important. “The” population equates to approximately 5% of people using about 50% of the healthcare system.
Nicole: For our Covington Hospital Expansion, we created walking trails that connect to the campus and partnered with local schools and other businesses to create health initiatives.
