Five Substantial Benefits of a Successful Post-Acute Strategy

^{By: Brent Feorene}
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has fundamentally changed the healthcare marketplace and permanently altered the role of post-acute programs in the strategic response of health systems.

This is a challenge for many hospital systems as they have under invested in management talent and the infrastructure of their post-acute capabilities. As payment models evolve and providers become more accountable for patient’s costs, care will be driven to the lowest cost settings. A hospital’s post-acute capabilities could be an engine that drives profitability or the burden that causes missed opportunity.

This evolution is forcing health systems to respond. Those that are accepting this new environment are pursuing a clear view of the condition of their post-acute care strategy and capabilities. An integral part of a health system’s business model will be designing and implementing a post-acute strategy. This is not only fundamental, but vital for thriving in this new marketplace.

A successful post-acute strategy creates five substantial benefits for any hospital system:

• Improve the quality of care
• Gain greater control over market share
• Sustain and ultimately increase margins
• Improve the hospital system’s overall value proposition
• Adequately position the health system for new reimbursement methodologies

Continued...