Insights and Trends
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Three Strategies to Overcome Medical Oversight and Staffing Issues
September 07, 2021With greater emphasis being placed on care transitions and readmission rates, inpatient rehabilitation units have the incredible potential to become high-performing centers of excellence that create greater patient access and enhance the performance of the entire hospital. However, without key foundational fundamentals, issues such as medical oversight and improper medical staffing can occur.
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How CMS’ Final Rule 2022 Will Impact Your Inpatient Rehabilitation Program
August 19, 2021The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (IRF PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2022. The payment rule will take effect for cost report periods beginning on or after October 1, 2021 for all rehabilitation units and freestanding hospitals.
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Behavioral Health Access: Urban Community Challenges and Opportunities
August 09, 2021Today, more than 50% of the global population is living in cities, and by 2050 this rate is expected to increase to nearly 70%.1 As more individuals migrate to urban communities, the risk of developing a mental or behavioral health illness rises. This sense of over-population leads to crowded emergency rooms and mental health treatment centers – impeding an individual’s ability to receive high-quality services.
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Two Steps to Help Your Rehabilitation Unit Achieve Greater Outcomes
August 04, 2021Over the past year, generating positive patient and facility outcomes within a rehabilitation unit was a testament to an efficient program with a solid foundation of leadership, staffing and certification. As health systems continue to make the necessary adjustments to better serve the growing medically complex patient population spurred by COVID-19, it is crucial to understand the attributes that contribute to positive outcomes.
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The Connection Between Service Line Co-location and Hospital Success
July 26, 2021Now more than ever, it is important for providers to be flexible in their ability to respond to current and future patient needs as the medically complex patient population continues to increase. But flexibility isn’t just important in an immediate crisis— it’s something healthcare leaders should be thinking about amid a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
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Opportunities to Address Behavioral Health Challenges in Community-based Hospitals
July 21, 2021Local communities continue to experience unique challenges that often create substantial obstacles for health systems to provide, and community members to receive, proper behavioral health treatment.
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Enhancing Facility Operations and Patient Access Through Program Optimization
July 06, 2021Inpatient rehabilitation continues to play a critical role in patient recovery, making it vital for programs to withstand the influx of patient care needed to address the growing medically complex population. A unit should have qualified leadership while maintaining optimal patient volume for overall program operations and access. However, many programs today do not reach their full potential because operational expertise and resources are difficult to develop and maintain.
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Four Targeted Questions to Help Assess a Potential Partner
June 29, 2021Within today’s challenging healthcare environment, many providers are finding greater hospital success through rehabilitation partnership. Support through a rehabilitation joint venture or acute management partner has resulted in quality improvement, cost savings and high-demand service line optimization. While the healthcare landscape has never been more challenging, this is a time of great opportunity.
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3 Steps to Enhance Your Hospital’s Overall Performance
June 11, 2021Inpatient rehabilitation units have the incredible potential to become high-performing centers of excellence that create greater patient access and enhance the performance of the entire hospital. Moreover, rehabilitation has been proven to be a critical component of a patient’s recovery, especially as the medically complex patient population continues to rapidly increase, and skilled nursing facilities can provide only limited patient care. However, many rehabilitation programs do not reach their full potential because operational expertise and resources are difficult to develop and maintain
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Addressing the Growing Behavioral Health Population: Key Strategies
June 02, 2021Drastic spikes in behavioral health issues are impacting communities across the nation as individuals continue to navigate stressors brought on by the pandemic. Recent research highlights that one in five U.S. adults, or 47.6 million people, experience mental illness each year.1 These spikes are an extension of an ongoing crisis in behavioral health globally and are not expected to decrease once COVID-19 subsides.
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Benefits of Electronic Health Records for Behavioral Health Treatment
April 26, 2021As issues surrounding the access and quality of behavioral health treatment continue to be addressed, so will the need of efficiently and effectively compiling and storing vital patient data. By doing so, hospitals and treatment centers can help ensure a patient’s mental health, among other factors, are properly monitored, in turn allowing a facility to provide tailored treatment plans for optimal outcomes and reduced readmission risk.
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Addressing Unmet Needs for Behavioral Health Patients
April 14, 2021The need for high quality behavioral health services has increased over the past year as research suggests that roughly 20% of the U.S. population may have behavioral health disorders, yet nearly 60% have unmet needs.1 This staggering statistic has created a community-wide impact – especially as the rapidly-growing aging population is not being adequately treated.
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Medically Complex Patients: Preparing Your Clinical Staff
April 12, 2021As hospital-based rehabilitation programs have worked to treat the growing medically complex patient population, providers now have to take into account the additional influx caused by COVID-19.
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ATI Advisory Highlights Growing Behavioral Health Need
March 25, 2021A recent research article published by ATI Advisory highlights the increasing need of behavioral health services in various hospital settings as the current Case Mix Index (CMI) indicates a continued increase in medically complex and seriously ill patients due to COVID-19.
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ATI Advisory Supports Inpatient Rehab’s Vital Role in COVID-19 Recovery
March 04, 2021A recent research article published by ATI Advisory further supports the fact that inpatient rehabilitation hospitals (IRFs) continue to produce superior outcomes for patient recovery from COVID-19 as well as other medical complexities.
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CMS Likely to Move Forward with Review Choice Demo: What Could It Mean For Your Rehab Program?
March 03, 2021Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) raised the possibility of moving forward with a proposed pre- or post-claim review demonstration program in up to four states in 2021 despite industry pushback. Stakeholders noted the implementation of this program would increase the administrative burden already placed on providers dealing with staffing…
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5 Biases That Impact Decision-Making
February 25, 2021Each day we unconsciously make decisions that can cause immediate results or long-term impacts at both a personal and professional level. These mental shortcuts – also known as biases – can present possible challenges or obstacles when it comes to making the best business decisions if not immediately addressed and thoroughly understood, as reported in a recent article published by the NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI).
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Demand for Specialty Inpatient Rehab Services on the Rise
February 12, 2021A recent article published by ECG Management Consultants discusses the predicament facing many health systems: How do hospitals meet today’s capacity demands fueled by COVID-19 while preparing for the expected decline in inpatient services in the future?
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Why Inpatient Rehab Remains Crucial Throughout and Beyond COVID-19
January 06, 2021Over the course of 2020, health systems have learned new protocols and practices that create stronger patient outcomes and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, inpatient rehabilitation has played a vital role in enabling patients to recover and will continue to play an important role in the future.
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Essential Infection Control Procedures for Inpatient Rehabilitation
September 01, 2020Although infection prevention and control measures have always been a part of an inpatient rehabilitation facility’s (IRFs) operational model, the impact on patient health and safety following COVID-19 has not only brought these measures to the forefront of patient care, but has also seen additions and revisions to previous practices.
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