As we approach the second quarter of 2023, it’s no secret that this year has been the year of disruption within post-acute care. Alongside financial recession and employee shortages, agencies face changing regulations, pressing audits, and increasing misallocation of funds. Throughout this period, according to a survey from the American Health Care Association, 60% of providers reported their situation worsening since January 2022.1 As a result, employee tasks have become increasingly monotonous, often leading to burnout in efforts to avoid audits amid changing regulation.
Although outlook appears bleak, these conditions offer the possibility of inviting transformative technology in the space. The future of technology boils down to a few key needs including the ability of agencies to do more with less, improving operations while providing analysis, and the ability to reduce cost.2 Overall, technologies enabling these conditions are already used in some situations, however, with the nature of post-acute, technologies of this category are expected to take over, building an increasingly optimized and productive future for the space. Maxwell TEC expects the future of post-acute care technology to fall under self-governing optimization, clarity establishment, and reduction of cost and error.
With ever-increasing need for documentational excellence, automating tasks is a surefire way to reduce employee burnout. Furthermore, the use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will eliminate human error. Error-reducing RPA utilization is further enhanced when paired with AI-powered technology such as voice-recognition. The utilization of AI speech-recognition heavily simplifies EMR documentation efforts by clinicians.1 With the use and accuracy of AI in the space, its estimated that full implementation can cut US healthcare costs by $150 Billion annually by 2026.3
The elimination of human error protects agencies, preparing them for potential audits, while allowing practitioners to dedicate time on more passion-driven tasks. Mixing RPA with an AI solution will not only reduce errors and protect agency documentation, but also improve employee satisfaction and overall retention. Maxwell TEC offers agencies solutions through our partnership program. Technology such as Element5’s AI-driven workflow automation provides agencies the tools to perfect backend operations while reinvesting employee time to more desirable tasks. Mixing this automation with a solution like nVoq’s intelligent speech-to-text fully optimizes and streamlines every step of the documentation and data analysis process.
With backend processes automated and supplemented with RPA and AI, employee time and satisfaction increase drastically. Once that issue is carefully addressed, the focus can shift towards a more holistic-agency optimization. To achieve full operational excellence, providers need technological solutions that supply a continuously updated agency overview, cross-checked with changing regulations and governed by confident data. Even with automated processes, if the collection and representation of the data is underdeveloped, the entire agency will experience operational stress. To combat this, transformative analytical solutions are needed for full effect. The previously mentioned nVoq software supplements data collection efforts while tracking the quality of documented care.
Furthermore, Maxwell TEC steps in with inventive tools, supplying a confident and continuous overview. Our line of Business Analytics products, alongside the recently unveiled Monthly Business Insights, provides easily digestible key metrics month by month. The result is increased data confidence with continuously updated reference points. Applying these insights to strictly governed data will highlight areas of excellence alongside possible room for improvement.
With the groundwork in place for an automated, transparent agency, providers must finalize implementation efforts by finding ways to reduce costs without staggering operations. Once implemented, the previously mentioned RPA and AI will serve to reduce repetitive costs from misallocated labor and possible error correction; however, there exists further opportunity for cost reduction within administrative operations. Maxwell TEC’s new Payor Profitability Solution supplies an essential overview of where to start. Our experts comb each source of cash flow, identifying areas that are under-optimized, or completely flawed. With these areas identified, the solution will be reached either internally or through third-party assistance.
The use of Cloud-based technology allows for data to be managed and accessed instantaneously while cutting costs of physical storage on-site. nVoq provides data collection through the cloud, grouping all its data for quick uninterrupted access.
Furthermore, agencies should consider outsourcing services, specifically within the revenue cycle. Outsourcing aids professionals solely focused on a single aspect of your business. Overall, this provides deeper analysis with quicker conflict resolution. HealthRev Partners, a recent addition to the Maxwell TEC partnership program offers a tailored, tech-driven approach to financial outsourcing. With a reliable, tailor-made, service-based approach, agencies enjoy a more affordable and efficient revenue cycle, ultimately leading to quicker turnaround and maximized reimbursements.
This blog was originally published as "Industry Conditions and the Future of Post-Acute Technology" by Harper Dion on April 4, 2023. for Maxwell Healthcare Associates. The Maxwell TEC editorial team has since updated this article to ensure accuracy and relevance.