Financial Leaders Gather at the CFO Exchange to Plot Their Future

CFOs are meeting in Florida this week at HealthLeaders’ annual event to discuss the top challenges facing health systems.

With incoming healthcare technology to consider, a formidable workforce shortage, intense policy runarounds, and lurking private equity market disruptors, CFOs are anxious about what’s to come.

Many will be meeting at Florida’s Amelia Island this week for the HealthLeaders CFO Exchange,  where they’ll talk about their experiences and trade ideas on addressing the biggest challenges.

Workforce Hardship

As CFOs try to stabilize their workforce, increased labor costs, reduced productivity, and managing the revenue cycle are looming on the horizon. To retain the right staff, CFOs are realizing they need to set the tone for organizational culture.

Some of the topics to be discussed at the Exchange this week include:

• Keeping staff engaged, particularly during a merger or other change of management;
• Strategies for reducing contract labor, a key pain point for many health systems looking to reduce expenses; and
• Planning for union activity.

CFOs will also discuss how to best merge cultures and operations among integrating systems and what physician recruitment and retention strategies are actually working.

Growth

CFOs will discuss what strategies are working for keeping up with the pace of change. Understanding how to create a business plan around AI adoption will be a big topic, along with how to use new technology to reduce clinician burnout, push medical operational excellence and optimize revenue cycle operations.

Participants will share how they have integrated new technology, such as AI, into their health systems. Understanding how to proactively create and nurture partnerships and connections for the future will also be a crucial discussion topic.

Succession Planning

With CFO turnover and retirements on the rise, members will also dive into succession planning.  This includes developing an understanding of how the CFO’s role is evolving and what new skills are needed to stay effective and relevant at a time when some health systems are reducing their C-Suite.

Facing Payers

Last but not least, CFOs will discuss payer relationships, particularly those dealing with Medicare Advantage. MA has been a roller coaster for health systems and, depending on the individual market, cultivating a successful strategy with the right partners isn't always easy.

Members will discuss how to conduct productive conversations with payers for better contract terms, what investments in revenue cycle operations are most effective with reimbursement, and what is working to minimize risk with Medicare Advantage contracts.

As the tension grows between providers and payers each passing year, identifying which strategies best align health systems and payers to maintain stable, collaborative partnerships will be imperative.

The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.

To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders CFO Exchange event, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.