Patient access is the key to VBP success

Medicare will begin paying hospitals for quality measures effective October 2012, CMS announced in a recent fact sheet. The new Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program adopts performance measures in two areas:

1. Clinical process, consisting of 12 measures
2. Patient experience, consisting of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey results

Hospitals preparing for VBP should realize that access to a strong network of post-acute providers is the secret to ensuring a positive patient experience, writes Jackie Birmingham, RN, MS in her Curaspan Connections column.

If hospitals don’t have access to a robust network of postacute providers, discharge planners have limited options to send patients for the next level of care. Patients may perceive that as a lack of quality, writes Birmingham, vice president of regulatory monitoring and clinical leadership at Curaspan Health Group in Newton, MA,. “Even if you provided the best care possible, it won’t matter. Perception is reality,” she says.

Birmingham says hospitals with strong postacute provider networks, and thus best positioned for success with VBP, typically include the following elements:

• Post acute provider performance data regarding turnaround times for referrals and readmissions. This information allows hospitals to get to the root cause of issues and address them. Improvements lead to better outcomes, including a better patient experience.
• Technology that connects acute and postacute providers so they can more quickly share information. Such software improves throughput, lowers LOS, and leads to increased patient satisfaction.
• Time dedicated to strengthening relationships with the patient. With technology removing many administrative burdens, clinicians are now able to spend more time with patients and their families to identify their needs.
  

Patients need more than information alone to continue to heal after leaving a hospital. They also need access to the appropriate providers who can continue their care, Birmingham writes. When your hospital begins to concentrate on VBP, ensure there’s a plan to address how patients transition to postacute care, she suggests.