As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to move full speed ahead, providers across the country are preparing for what is estimated to be upwards of 35 million newly insured consumers who could ultimately enter the healthcare system.
The immediate impact of the ACA on providers will vary greatly based on their home state participation in the health insurance exchanges and expansion of Medicaid. However, all providers must now deal with what seem to be competing goals: responding to the arrival and unique demands of these newly insured, while driving an improved experience for all patients.
Given the political back and forth, and state-by-state variables surrounding the implementation of the ACA, one can feel like responding effectively to these changes is akin to trying to make a sharp right turn in an aircraft carrier. This lack of clarity notwithstanding, there are several steps worth exploring in the area of improving access to care that could pay immediate dividends.
Seeking care: Step one in a successful treatment experience for both patient and provider is to ensure that the patient is seeking the right level of care in the right place and at the right time.
There are several straightforward steps providers can take in this area, including capitalizing on “Health 2.0” technologies, such as smartphone-based location services that provide patients with access points for non-urgent care and establishing clear indicators on their websites as to what types of insurance are accepted.
Additionally, given the continued rapid adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs), providers should consider activating campaigns to sign up patients for online access to EMR portals that will enable patients to view their records and appointments as well as receive comments on test results from their physicians. Communication to and retention of patients should be a key component of an overall access strategy as patients who have remote access to their EMRs may be less likely to switch providers.
Locating care: As the healthcare system increasingly rewards organizations for their ability to achieve healthy patient outcomes, providers will need to implement more creative methods for building out their assets in the area of preventive medicine and for creating less costly points of interaction with patients.
Such steps could include:
- Conducting wellness visits at both employers and schools to make it easier for patients to get check-ups;
- Expanding access to care through non-conventional relationships, such as with drug stores and grocery stores that serve as clinics;
- Expanding telemedicine capabilities to provide care in rural settings where access to specialists is limited.
Enhancing the visit: In an era of patient satisfaction surveys and an increasingly empowered healthcare consumer, providers will compete and be rewarded not just on patient outcomes but also on the entire patient experience.
Offering simple conveniences such as self-registration kiosks and streamlined front-end collection of insurance data would reduce the paperwork headaches that many patients dread. Additionally, increasing the use of email systems or web portals to address scheduling or insurance costs rather than call centers and their often frustrating hold times should vastly improve patients’ overall satisfaction.
While there is no “one size fits all” approach for success in meeting the new care challenges of the ACA, providers that boldly experiment with these types of new approaches to engage with patients and empower them to make the right health choices will be well positioned to compete regardless of the speed at which healthcare reform truly becomes reality in their particular markets.
The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ernst & Young LLP.