Digital Health
lower cost, whether that be in a mixed government and private system of the United States or in the predominantly government sponsored systems in the remainder of the world. The prescription for a balanced approach to this
transformation is developing and implementing a clear, overarching strategy that will achieve three
critical aims: l Improve the efficiency of current operations l Embrace new and innovative approaches to care to improve patient experience and drive better value
from services l Create agile (regulatory and operating) structures and processes that will allow the organisation to do both simultaneously Despite the difference in delivering care around
the globe, the goal of every healthcare provider and underlying system seems to be the same: to improve health status of patients and do so in a cost-effective/sustainable way.
Improve the efficiency of current operations A move to new funding arrangements that link directly to performance is not only desirable but inevitable. In economically disadvantaged areas there is a
global shortage of doctors and critical facilities/ supplies/drugs while wealthier nations struggle with finding the optimal resource allocation and division of responsibility between public and private sector payers, providers and the patient. Predictions are that in the very near future there will be less money in the US healthcare system available to hospitals and physicians so dramatic changes are still needed. Indeed, value-based reimbursement programmes that pay for outcomes, not services, driven in large part by the 2010 Affordable Care Act are now taking effect. To survive, every US healthcare provider will need to develop new strategies, capabilities and tactics to remain competitive by lowering costs while simultaneously improving their current resources, clinical expertise and financial discipline. In the UK there is a movement toward Outcomes Based Commissioning strategies designed to achieve similar objectives. But these “top down” funding reconfigurations are
only part of the equation. Focusing on continuous “grass roots” performance improvement (CPI) is the tried and true first line of defence but NOT to the exclusion of all else; to understand the risks of this, one only needs to look at the well-reported case of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (MidStaffs) from the UK, where, according to an independent investigation, patients were “failed by a system which ignored the warning signs and put corporate self- interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety” The triple aim of effective performance
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FTI Consulting JEFF D. BENTON, CTP, CPA, CVA
Jeff Benton is a Senior Managing Director in FTI Consulting’s Healthcare practice and leads the London office. Jeff has over 30 years’ of experience in healthcare finance, accounting and real estate with an emphasis on
mergers and acquisitions, turnaround, restructuring and workout projects for both stable and financially challenged clients. Additionally, Jeff has held non-executive director
seats on a Medicaid HMO, a state-wide integrated delivery system and a captive reinsurance company. He has provided healthcare consulting services for
more than 13 years having worked in the healthcare industry for 15 years prior. In industry he has held a variety of senior finance positions, including Chief Financial Officer for an HMO and various Business Development positions.
improvement must be to improve patient experience while simultaneously achieving both greater efficiency and value from health delivery systems. Therefore one must combine thoughtful performance improvement tactics based on the principles outlined below with changes to how funding is acquired, all with an eye on how the surrounding health economy is affected. Performance Improvement is best achieved by; l Reducing costs as a by-product of improved safety,
quality and outcomes l Empowering and engaging patients l Taking a long-term view - CPI is an ongoing,
iterative process that is continuous. It is not a short- term, quick fix cost-cutting programme.
Embrace new and innovative approaches Adopting new digital technology such as electronic health records is advancing rapidly. These tools can lower costs and expand the reach of healthcare providers through wireless access and mobile devices, helping to deliver care to previously underserved patient populations. Just as importantly, they can enhance the integration of clinical resources which has been demonstrated to improve care while driving down costs. For example, new glucose monitoring systems are being developed with technology that will remotely measure a diabetes patient’s glucose levels every few minutes, allowing accurate and specific alerts to be sent to both the user and the physician about impending hyperglycaemia or hypoglycaemia. The cost and outcomes benefit to this technology are self-evident. In many ways new technologies helps emerging healthcare systems avoid the growing pains that come with learning from innovation. The key to benefiting from the implementation
of new technologies is accurate, actionable data. Governments, healthcare institutions, and both public and private organisations should be mobilised to amass a broad and deep pool of patient information that can then be queried by analytic tools to assess current gaps in capabilities and outcomes and
global-opportunity.co.uk Issue 01 | Global Opportunity Healthcare 2015 97
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