Every year, our clinical experts examine emerging trends, new technology, and game changing strategies around healthcare offerings. This knowledge led to five predictions for 2019 with focus on the biggest trends, opportunities, and challenges. Each prediction also offers insights and real-world action items for skilled nursing and other long-term care facilities to make a real impact on value-based care this year.
So, what are we seeing for 2019?
Investing in Your Staff
2019 will bring a greater emphasis on accurate MDS coding. It’s going to require skilled nursing facilities to invest in staff training and overall mindset on care because PDPM will be here October 1st. PDPM is going to be a hot topic all year for skilled nursing and we are here to guide you along the way with our white paper, blogs, and future webinars.
Business Diversification
In order to stay competitive, more skilled nursing facilities will turn to specialized care in 2019. Our experts offer the specific example of memory care and how many facilities have pivoted toward offering care designated for individuals with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other memory-based healthcare needs. Many facilities are seeing success in offering specialty care, though there are many things to consider when looking at this change.
Less Provider Burnout
Let’s talk about the hot topic of provider burnout heightened by technology. Our experts feel that 2019 will be the year that nurses, doctors, social workers, and other staff members will feel less burdened by technology such as electronic health records (EHR) due to updates in the usability of this type of technology.
Improved Engagement with Family Members
The way families approach making decisions for loved ones is the focus of prediction number four. We examine how healthcare facilities will need to find new and innovative ways to engage families with the shifting of generations as Millennials and Generation Z make more decisions for loved ones than ever before. These two younger generations have different expectations when it comes to technology use, staff credentials, and more. The white paper will dive into how different generations make decisions, how best to communicate with the varying generations, and the challenges of marketing to several family members of different generations in, what is often times, a multi-generational decision-making process.
Focus on Data
The last prediction studies the role facilities make decisions and how the importance of accurate data from multiple sources will increase in 2019. With technology more involved in care than ever before, facilities have more access to data from facilities across the entire resident lifecycle. Our experts walk you through how to keep your data clean and usable, along with where this data can make informed decisions.
We hope our predictions will be beneficial to your organization. To get the full scoop on what we’re seeing and how facilities can respond and grow as a result, read our full white paper The Future of Long-Term Care: Industry Predictions for 2019.