Taking The Pulse Of Community Hospitals
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
The Health IT Outcomes annual survey of community hospitals aims to identify the unique challenges faced by those facilities.
Every year, Health IT Outcomes surveys more than 100 small community and critical access hospitals (300 beds or fewer) to determine the health IT trends and challenges with the most significant impact on this key segment of the care continuum. Not surprisingly, the survey has repeatedly demonstrated that limited financial and human resources make it difficult for these smaller providers to meet their health IT demands. Among top challenges in last year’s survey were those surrounding Meaningful Use, patient engagement, and direct messaging.
A recent poll of community hospital administrators conducted by the American College of Healthcare Executives revealed government mandates such as ICD-10 and Meaningful Use top the list of concerns. When asked to rank 10 issues affecting their hospitals in order of importance, respondents produced the following list:
- financial challenges
- healthcare reform implementation
- governmental mandates
- patient safety and quality
- care for the uninsured/underinsured
- patient satisfaction
- physician-hospital relations
- population health management
- technology
- personnel shortages
With the added financial pressures created by governmental mandates like the ICD-10 transition, smaller community hospitals often feel the weight more greatly than their larger counterparts. “The [ACHE] survey results show that these are challenging times for CEOs and leadership teams, and we are all expected to do more with less,” Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, president and CEO of ACHE, explained. “Taking care of patients and improving patient safety and quality in their organizations is job No. 1, but CEOs acknowledge they must do so in a climate of complex payment reform, dwindling reimbursement and government mandates.”
The increased challenges also means rural hospitals must turn to innovation to overcome obstacles, even as they worry about their ability to remain independent, as Hospitals and Health Networks points out. Community hospitals often turn to ACOs, develop patient-centered medical homes, and launch other initiatives to improve the health of their communities, finding innovative ways to adapt to dramatic changes in the current healthcare system.
To participate in the 2015 Community Hospital Health IT Survey, click here. The survey is intended specifically for leaders of community hospitals in the United States (those with 1-300 bed) and survey results will be published by Health IT Outcomes later this year.