5 Takeaways From the HIDA Extended Care Market Conference

May 26, 2017

Chicago, IL – Healthcare’s shift away from institutional settings and into the home is accelerating, according to speakers at HIDA’s recent Extended Care Market Conference in Chicago, IL. Attendees at the event shared ideas for better serving this growing market and other post-acute providers. Among the insights:

1. Home health providers see the home as the center of care. “We don’t want to be considered an extension of care, we want to be the place where individuals receive their care,” said Tracey Moorhead, Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA). Her organization recently launched a sister association, ElevatingHOME, to advocate for home-based healthcare and reposition it as the center of healthcare delivery. She noted that demographic shifts, patient preference, and lower cost-of-care are all driving growth for healthcare in the home.
2. It’s all about quality metrics. Moorhead advised suppliers to connect their products and services to the numerous quality of care and patient experience measures featured under Home Health Compare and Value-Based Purchasing programs. Other speakers echoed this point, noting that vendors who provide evidence of reducing readmissions or improving quality ratings will succeed in long-term care, regardless of setting.
3. Providers crave data. Susan Patrick Harris, Brookdale Senior Living, expressed the need for actionable data from suppliers. “I need data presented in a realistic way that tells me a story,” she said. “Don’t simply dump daily spend data on me, but give me cost per patient day.”.
4. As care shifts away from the hospital, acuity is increasing in every setting. Today’s nursing home serves patients with multiple needs, requiring higher levels of care, noted Clifton Porter, American Health Care Association. Those patients are also discharged more quickly than ever to other settings, requiring more advanced services from home health providers and assisted living facilities as well.
5. Providers are focused on the “care continuum.” Glen Roebuck, Genesis Health System, noted that health systems like Genesis are seeking strong, selective partnerships with post-acute providers that maintain care continuity and prevent readmissions. “Suppliers have the opportunity to bring providers together to create innovative strategies that ensure ongoing success and better outcomes for patients,” he added.

More than 80 manufacturer, distributor, and provider executives attended the conference, which is one in an annual three-conference series of events focused on specific healthcare market segments. The next program in the series is HIDA’s 2018 Hospital-Physician Market Conference. For details, go to www.HIDA.org.