An industry still smarting from the effects of the Change Healthcare cyberattack is reportedly bouncing back quickly from Friday’s global outage.
(Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include comments from First health Advisory)
Friday’s global software outage caused some headaches for hospitals and health systems across the world, a grim reminder that technical mishaps aren’t always the result of bad actors.
As of this morning, most of the affected systems are back up and running, and hospitals across the country are getting back to business as usual, with a few hiccups along the way. Experts say the global effect of the outage, which was still being felt in other industries, especially the airlines, could top $1 billion.
“All too often these days, a single glitch results in a system-wide outage,” Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, said in a tweet on Friday. “The incidents reveal how concentration can create fragile systems.”
“Random issues and outages persisted over the weekend for a number of healthcare providers and will continue into the early parts of this week," Toby Gouker, CSO of government and digital health at First Health Advisory, said in an e-mail to HealthLeaders this morning. "While the fix to the problem only takes a matter of minutes, each machine running an impacted windows operating system has to be physically touched by a qualified individual. There is no centralized patch/fix that can be pushed out on the network and reaching each endpoint in a healthcare system will take upwards of a week for some larger or understaffed facilities.”
The outage originated with the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which reported problems tied to a routine software update to its Falcon Sensor product, which is designed to protect cloud-based data during cyberattacks. The outrage reportedly impacted about 8.5 million Microsoft devices, according to a company blog posted Saturday, more than a million of which are used in healthcare.
“We are working closely with impacted customers and partners to ensure that all systems are restored, so you can deliver the services your customers rely on,” CrowdStrike founder and CEO George Kurtz said in a company blog on Friday, adding that the incident was not a cyberattack but a “defect found in a single content update.”
But he also warned that bad actors could take advantage of the disruption.
“We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this,” Kurtz said. “I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and ensure that you’re engaging with official CrowdStrike representatives. Our blog and technical support will continue to be the official channels for the latest updates.”
David Chou, a healthcare security analyst and chief digital officer for Legacy Community Health, said the incident should give CIOs and CTOs cause to review their cybersecurity setup.
“CIOs typically only auto-update some technology packages but trust CrowdStrike,” he wrote in a Forbes opinion piece posted Sunday. “This scenario is alarming because CrowdStrike's last update involved a kernel-level change. The concern is that CrowdStrike and its agents have kernel access to nearly every major system and endpoint running Windows worldwide, particularly in healthcare, government, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure.”
“The CrowdStrike outage serves as a critical lesson in the importance of designing resilient systems, preparing for rapid response, maintaining clear communication, and continuously improving cybersecurity measures to manage the risks associated with interconnectivity,” added First Health Advisory's David Finn, EVP of governance, risk, and compliance
The outage affected health systems and hospitals using Microsoft products, as well as airlines, transportation services, banks, schools, and other businesses. A few states also reported that their 911 call centers had been affected.
Several health systems, including Mass General Brigham, Emory Healthcare, Norton Healthcare, RWJBarnabas Health, Penn Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Baptist Health, CommonSpirit Health, Cleveland Clinic, and Providence, to name a few, postponed some services on Friday.
“While we continue to monitor the situation closely, we are hearing from hospitals and health systems that the impact varies widely,” John Rigg, national advisor for cybersecurity and risk at the American Hospital Association, said in an AHA press release issued Friday afternoon. “Some have experienced little to no impact while others are dealing directly with some disruptions to medical technology, communications and third-party service providers. These disruptions are resulting in some clinical procedure delays, diversions or cancellations. Impact is also being felt indirectly as a result of local emergency call centers being down.”
“Impacted hospitals are working hard to implement manual restoration of systems and the CrowdStrike patch,” he added. “Affected hospitals have also implemented downtime procedures to ensure that disruptions to patient care are minimized or avoided to the extent possible.”
By Monday, not much remained of the uproar within the healthcare sector. Massachusetts General Hospital, which was among the first to postpone some services on Friday, posted a notice on social media on Saturday that “all scheduled appointments and procedures will happen as planned on Monday.”
“Our response teams are continuing to work diligently throughout the weekend to address the many additional downstream impacts across our system from the CrowdStrike failure,” the notice continued. “We are grateful for the patience and understanding of our patients and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our staff who have worked tirelessly to respond to this extremely challenging incident.”
Atlanta’s Emory Healthcare still had a notice posted on its website this morning warning that “patients may experience delays in our call center or other operations.” It asked them to use their MyChart portal to manage appointments and communicate with their care team.
By contrast, more than 700 U.S. flights were still being cancelled on Monday, many of them run by Delta Airlines, as the industry struggled to bounce back.
The outage affected healthcare organizations across the country in different ways. Some postponed all or most procedures, while others reported minor disruptions. There were news reports of clinicians going back to pan and paper because they couldn’t gain access to the EHRs.
Epic reportedly issued a statement saying the outage did not directly affect its software or services, but some services tied to its Nebula platform, which uses Microsoft Azure, were impacted. It also said the outage did cause some healthcare organizations to lose access to their Epic platforms.
In the UK, where the healthcare industry was still trying to bounce back on Monday, one Shropshire doctor called on the public to be “kind” to beleaguered doctors and nurses.
"This is beyond all of our control," Jess Harvey, who runs the Much Wenlock & Cressage Medical Practice, told the BBC. "Everyone is doing their best to try and make everything work the best they can."
"We're working really hard as a team to try and get through it,” she added, saying she and her staff were “getting to grips with our handwriting.”
CNOs should be ready to adapt to the evolving nature of healthcare while advancing nursing practice, according to this nurse leader.
Nurse leaders always have a lot on their plates, so since we are halfway through 2024, it's time for a mid-year check-in.
So far this year, the nursing shortage has remained top of mind for many CNOs, followed by the rise of new technologies such as virtual nursing and AI. Leaders have also been working to address nurse wellbeing and burnout, workplace violence, and innovative recruitment and retention strategies.
Here are three current top trends in nursing, according to Vicky Tilton, vice president, patient care services and chief nursing officer at Valley Children's Healthcare. Tilton said that these trends reflect ongoing efforts to advance nursing practice, improve patient outcomes, and adapt to the ever-changing needs and challenges in healthcare.
"It is essential to note that the nursing profession is diverse and dynamic," Tilton said, "and trends may vary based on factors such as specialty area, practice setting, and geographic location."
Technological integration
According to Tilton, advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning, robotics, and virtual care platforms are being increasingly incorporated into workflows. Tilton explained that nurse leaders should get ready to upskill nurses in digital literacy and specialized training programs to effectively implement these new tools.
"In 2024, nurses may see expanded roles in utilizing and managing these technologies to improve patient care, streamline workflows, and enhance clinical decision-making," Tilton said.
These new technologies have and will continue to impact nurse workflows and care delivery, and according to Tilton, they will have a significant impact on telehealth, remote patient monitoring, precision medicine, and genomics.
"As technology continues to evolve, healthcare organizations must adapt to harness its full potential and address associated challenges," Tilton said, "including data privacy concerns, interoperability issues, and disparities in access to digital health tools."
Mental health and wellbeing
The second trend that CNOs and other nurse leaders should focus on is the mental health and wellbeing of their staff.
The COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the importance of having mental health resources and support systems, Tilton said, along with the need for building resilience among staff. CNOs should expand mental health training and resources for nurses as well as foster a culture of empathy and self-care.
"In 2024, nurses may play an increasingly vital role in promoting mental health awareness," Tilton said, "[by] providing psychosocial support, and integrating mental health screenings and interventions into routine care practices."
One way that CNOs can address mental health and wellness is through innovative staffing models. There are four new staffing models that Tilton said will revolutionize nursing: team-based care, flexible staffing, care continuity models, and telehealth nursing.
"Staffing models are expanding by incorporating specialized roles and leveraging advanced practice nurses to optimize care delivery and address workforce needs," Tilton said. "Contingency labor and role specialization to ensure operational efficiency and adaptability in meeting patient care demands are being leveraged as well."
Holistic patient-centered care
The last growing trend in the nursing industry is the focus on holistic and patient-centered care. Tilton explained that this might lead to the implementation of interdisciplinary collaboration models, such as nurse-led care teams, that provide comprehensive and personalized care. The goal is to address the specific needs of each patient.
"Nurses may prioritize care approaches that consider not only patients' physical health but also their emotional, social, and spiritual well-being," Tilton said.
The shift toward patient-centered care and consumerism is causing leaders to reshape healthcare delivery models, Tilton continued, and patients are more empowered to take an active role in their healthcare decisions by demanding transparency, convenience, personalized care, and access to care through technology.
"CNOs need to prioritize patient engagement, satisfaction, and safety by redesigning care processes, enhancing communication and education strategies, and incorporating patient feedback into quality improvement efforts," Tilton said.
Tilton also emphasized that CNOs are instrumental in fostering a patient-centered culture and in making sure that nurses are responsive to the diverse needs of patients and their families.
"By staying informed about these trends and proactively addressing the opportunities and challenges they present," Tilton said, "CNOs can effectively lead nursing departments, drive organizational success, and promote excellence in patient care."
The proposed Physician Fee Schedule includes, among other things, Medicare coverage for care management using telehealth and digital health tools, as well as coverage for some digital therapeutics devices used in behavioral health treatment
Healthcare providers will have more opportunities to receive Medicare reimbursements for digital health and virtual care programs under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
In what is roundly considered a positive step forward for healthcare innovation, CMS is showing support for care management programs that embrace new technologies and strategies to meet patients where they are, rather than paying providers to entice them into the doctor’s office or hospital.
Advance Primary Care Management Codes
Perhaps most surprising to analysts is CMS’ efforts to incorporate virtual care into primary care to push the healthcare industry toward value-based care. CMS is proposing three new “Advanced Primary Care Management” HCPCS codes that focus on interactions with patients at the time and place of their choosing.
In a blog post, Carrie Nixon and Kaitlin O’Connor of Nixon Gwilt Law say the new codes are not based on time spent with a patient, but focus on specific activities by clinicians and using technology to address patient needs.
“The Advanced Primary Care Management (or APCM) HCPCS codes bundle elements of the existing Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Principal Care Management (PCM) codes set with Communications Technology-Based Services (CTBS) codes for virtual check-ins, remote evaluation of images, e-visits, and interprofessional consults to create what CMS refers to as an “enhanced care management” bundle,” they wrote. “Unlike CCM and PCM services, the APCM codes are not time-based – meaning, care management services that do not meet the 20 or 30-minute requirements for CCM or PCM would be billable under APCM.”
Nixon and O’Connor also noted that CMS is expanding the rule to allow non-physician care providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, to order and bill for those services, as long as any practitioner who bills for those services “Intends to be responsible for the patient’s primary care and is the continuing focal point for all needed healthcare services.”
The three new codes are:
GPCM1: Advanced primary care management services provided by clinical staff and directed by a physician or other qualified health care professional who is responsible for all primary care and serves as the continuing focal point for all needed health care services, per calendar month. Approximate reimbursement is $10 per patient per month.
GPCM2: Advanced primary care management services for a patient with multiple (two or more) chronic conditions expected to last at least 12 months, or until the death of the patient, which place the patient at significant risk of death, acute exacerbation/decompensation, or functional decline, provided by clinical staff and directed by a physician or other qualified health care professional who is responsible for all primary care and serves as the continuing focal point for all needed health care services, per calendar month, with the elements included in GPCM1, as appropriate. Approximate reimbursement is $50 per patient per month.
GPCM3: Advanced primary care management services for a patient that is a Qualified Medicare Beneficiary with multiple (two or more) chronic conditions expected to last at least 12 months, or until the death of the patient, which place the patient at significant risk of death, acute exacerbation/decompensation, or functional decline, provided by clinical staff and directed by a physician or other qualified health care professional who is responsible for all primary care and serves as the continuing focal point for all needed health care services, per calendar month, with the elements included in GPCM1, as appropriate. Approximate reimbursement is $110 per patient per month.
Telehealth Flexibilities
In other news, CMS is proposing to continue a Medicare waiver through 2025 that enables providers to bill for telehealth services delivered from their homes while using their practice location for billing purposes.
More than 100 healthcare organizations had lobbied CMS to continue that waiver or even make it permanent, saying it reduces stress and burnout and enables clinicians to design virtual care programs that are more flexible to their lifestyles and that don’t need costly and complex on-site telehealth centers.
Separately, CMS did not create any new CPT codes for telehealth services that duplicate existing telehealth-eligible services covered by Medicare. The Alliance for Connected Care praised that decision, saying, “We believe that telehealth is a modality for providing health care, it is not a different service.
Digital Therapeutics Coverage
Also, the proposed 2025 PFS is showing some love for the digital therapeutics sector, with reimbursement for some behavioral health treatments that use FDA-approved devices. Specifically, the proposed rules offer reimbursement for the first 20 minutes, and then for an additional 20 minutes, of treatment using a “digital mental health treatment” (DMHT) device.
The new codes are:
GMBT1 (Supply of digital mental health treatment device and initial education and onboarding, per course of treatment that augments a behavioral therapy plan). CMS is proposing contractor pricing for GMBT1 and seeking comments on which national pricing methodologies may be considered, including crosswalks.
GMBT2 (First 20 minutes of monthly treatment management services directly related to the patient’s therapeutic use of the digital mental health treatment (DMHT). CMS proposes a direct crosswalk to CPT code 98980 (RTM first 20 minutes), that is assigned a work RVU of .62 and has a 2024 National Payment Amount of $50.60 (non-facility) and $30.29 (facility).
GMBT3 (Each additional 20 minutes of monthly treatment management services directly related to the patient’s therapeutic use of the digital mental health treatment (DMHT). CMS proposes a crosswalk to CPT code 98981 (RTM each additional 20 minutes), that is assigned a work RVU of .61 and has a 2024 National Payment Amount of $39.95 (non-facility) and $29.96 (facility).
In an e-mail, the Digital Therapeutic Alliance hailed the proposal as “the first acknowledgement of a pathway for reimbursement for a certain sector of digital therapeutic interventions,” and said they set “a precedent for Medicare coding, coverage, and reimbursement that can be applied to additional therapeutic categories.”
According to Nixon and O’Connor, DMHT devices, also known as digital CBT devices, “refer to software devices cleared by [FDA] that are intended to treat or alleviate a mental health condition, in conjunction with ongoing behavioral healthcare treatment under a behavioral health treatment plan of care, by generating and delivering a mental health treatment intervention that has a demonstrable positive therapeutic impact on a patient’s health.”
One issue with the proposed rule, Nixon and O’Connor say, is the language used to define what devices will be covered. Because it requires only that the software meet the FDA’s definition of a device but doesn’t specifically state that a device be FDA-cleared, the rule could disqualify and device that is subject to FDA enforcement discretion or exempt from FDA pre-market clearance.
Clearing Up Coding for FQHCs and RHCs
The proposed 2025 PFS didn’t offer any good news for federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) or rural health centers (RHCs), which have been lobbying for increased use of and reimbursement for telehealth and digital health services for years. In the proposed rule, CMS is eliminating HCPCS G0511, under which FQHCs could bill for remote physiological monitoring and remote therapeutic monitoring services, and telling FQHCs and RHCs to bill under existing CPT codes for care management (including the proposed APCM codes).
The change is designed to clear up reported confusion over what services could be billed under HCPCS G0511, but Nixon and O’Connor noted that it could mean less reimbursements for FQHCs and RHCs.
Other Proposals
Finally, the proposed 2025 PFS includes the following:
Permanent coverage of two-way, real-time, audio-only telehealth services, such as the telephone, “for any telehealth service furnished to a beneficiary in their home if the distant site physician or practitioner is technically capable of using an interactive telecommunications system but the patient is not capable of, or does not consent to, the use of video technology.” This would enable providers to expand treatment services in rural and remote areas where broadband is limited, as well as for patients who can’t access audio-video telemedicine.
Reimbursement for audio-only telehealth services for periodic assessment of patients undergoing substance abuse disorder (SUD) treatment when video is not available.
Reimbursement for audio-only telehealth services used in initial intake for SUD patients seeking methadone treatment when video is not available.
Extending the definition of “direct supervision” to include access by audio-video telemedicine, rather than requiring everyone to be in the same room. CMS is also proposing to add audio-visual telemedicine access to a permanent definition of direct supervision.
Coverage for remote supervision (such as telehealth) of physical therapists and occupational therapists over PT assistants and OT assistants as permitted by state laws. This would open the door to more telehealth therapy services.
A continuation of the policy to “allow teaching physicians to have a virtual presence for purposes of billing for services furnished involving residents in all teaching settings, but only in clinical instances when the service is furnished virtually (for example, a three-way telehealth visit, with the patient, resident, and teaching physician all parties in separate locations) through December 31, 2025.”
CMS will accept public comments on the proposed 2025 PFS through September 9.
As many health systems employ AI technology and virtual nursing, the idea of a "smart room" has come to the forefront.
HealthLeaders spoke to Cynthia Latney, senior vice president and CNE at OhioHealth, and HealthLeaders Exchange member, about the recently launchedPickerington Methodist Hospital, which is equipped with smart room technology that will create a different experience for patients and their families. Tune in to learn more.
Click here to read the accompanying article.
The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.
A licensure compact for social workers would enable health systems and hospitals to expand telehealth outreach and include social workers in more programs.
A new licensing compact could help health systems and hospitals improve efforts to address social determinants of health and use telehealth to expand behavioral health outreach.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is issuing four grants worth a collective $2.5 million through the License Portability Grant Program (LPGP) to create a multi-state social worker licensure compact. Through the compact, license social workers will be able to practice in member states without the need to apply for a license in each state.
“Social workers are essential to expanding access to behavioral healthcare services,” HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said in a press release. “HRSA is leading the way in growing the behavioral health workforce both by training more providers and by breaking down barriers to allow the workforce to make mental health and substance use disorder services more accessible across the country.”
Telehealth advocates say multi-state licensure compacts can be an important tool for overcoming licensure barriers and expanding virtual care networks across the country. They allow healthcare organizations to expand programs across state lines and into areas where healthcare resources—especially specialists—are scarce.
Social workers are a critical element of behavioral health and SDOH programs because they can help connect patients to resources beyond the traditional healthcare network, helping to address barriers that include housing, transportation, education, employment and cultural and family issues.
“Social workers are on the frontlines in responding to the administration’s priorities, including meeting children’s mental health needs, responding to the opioid epidemic, and addressing maternal depression,” HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson said in the press release. “Today’s announcement is a critical step in helping social workers serve people in need, particularly in rural and underserved communities across the country.”
The OrganOx replicates conditions inside the human body to keep livers viable during the journey from the donor to the recipient.
New technology is helping healthcare organizations improve transplants by preserving the organ during its journey from the donor to the recipient.
One such innovation is the OrganOx, a portable “pump” now being used by Intermountain Health for liver transplants. Officials say the technology, which has been used in more than 35 liver transplants since December 2023, could save hundreds of lives and improve the quality of life for thousands of people.
“This is potentially life-changing for the thousands of patients on the national waiting list for a liver transplant, and the more than a thousand patients a year who die waiting for a liver to become available,” Richard Gilroy, MD, a transplant hepatologist and Intermountain Health’s liver transplant medical director, said in a recent press release from the Utah-based health system. “Because of this technology we are able to use livers from donors that would previously not even have been considered for donation.”
The OrganOx includes a pump that functions as the heart and an oxygenator that functions as the lungs. When a human liver is placed inside the device, they combine to function as a human body would, keeping the liver oxygenated and maintained at normal body temperature until it can be transplanted.
“This technology allows the donor liver to remain viable for longer periods of time, extending the time from organ removal to transplant from just hours to more than one day, and potentially travel longer distances between donor and recipient sites,” Jean Botha, MD, the medical director of Intermountain Health’s abdominal transplant program as well as Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital’s pediatric transplant program, said in the press release. “The device also enables real-time assessment of liver function and quality, which may help to increase the pool of suitable organs for transplantation.”
The OrganOx is one of several devices and platforms developed over the past few years to improve transplants. Some aim to preserve organs longer outside the body, while others are using data analysis tech technology, including AI, to match donors faster and more efficiently with those in need of new organs.
The technology aims to improve clinical outcomes for the estimated 10,000 organ transplants performed each year and improve chances for the estimated 10,000 people on the waiting list for a new organ. According to experts, 17 people die each day on a waiting list, and a new name is added to a waiting list every 10 minutes. With livers in particular, it’s estimated that more than 2,000 are discarded each year because they don’t survive the typical process of cold preservation or are damaged by oxygen deprivation.
The strategy does come with some controversy. The process of keeping organs alive outside the donor’s body is called a normothermic regional perfusion, or an NRP transplant. When a device like the OrganOx is used, the process is called normothermic machine perfusion, or NMP. A recent NPR story shed light on the debate, highlighted by the American Journal of Bioethics, over whether the process keeps the body technically alive and blurs the definition of death.
In an e-mail to HealthLeaders, Botha said both NRP and NMP are saving lives.
“Actually, the two modalities are not in competition with each other but rather complimentary,” he wrote. “NRP is our preferred modality for all DCD (Donation after Circulatory Death) donors, in addition to increasing the utilization of DCD organs (livers and kidneys), it improves the outcomes of both.”
According to Botha, recent research comparing NMP to the traditional method of cold storage on a hypothetical cohort of 432 patients found that NMP allowed 54 additional successful transplants and saved hundreds of additional lives through the availability of more liver grafts and a reduction in waitlist mortality. This also improved the quality of life for liver transplant recipients.
Intermountain has done more than 1,000 liver transplants--including living-related, deceased donor, and split implantation--since launching its liver transplant program in 1986. Officials say the program has grown threefold since its launch, making it the third fastest-growing liver transplant program in the country.
Botha says the OrganOx is currently kept at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, though it’s portable enough to be deployed from the donor’s operating room table to nearby transplant centers. The company is now putting a similar device through trials for kidney perfusion.
The Chevron decision has the potential to impact public health and access to public healthcare, according to these organizations.
The United States Supreme Court recently overturned the long-standing Chevron deference doctrine, which held that courts should defer to agency interpretations of statutes that fall under the particular agency's purview, when the interpretation is reasonable, and the meaning of a statute is not made explicitly clear by Congress.
Hospitals and health systems will now potentially have to wait through legal challenges to regulations that were previously determined by the many federal agencies that influence healthcare.
An amicus brief, published in September 2023, warned that "overruling Chevron would have enormous impact on the administration of federal programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, that are critical to public health."
The brief was signed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, ALS Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, American Thoracic Society, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Child Neurology Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, National Health Law Program, Physicians for Social Responsibility, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Truth Initiative.
Here's what you need to know about how the Chevron decision will impact healthcare.
Commonwealth Care Alliance President and CEO Chris Palmieri says healthcare organizations need to look to private capital to support innovation, especially as they use new technology to address key care gaps.
With many healthcare organizations struggling to stay in the black, the idea of raising private capital to spend on innovation seems outlandish.
Chris Palmieri, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Care Alliance and founder of the CCA’s healthcare innovation accelerator, Winter Street Ventures, begs to differ.
“Private capital has proven able to able to improve care delivery and efficiency in ways that can serve patients and the broader healthcare system also in a positive way,” he says in this week’s HealthLeaders podcast.
With the Steward Health collapse and disruptors like Walgreens and Walmart retreating from the primary care space, hospitals and health systems are giving more thought to how they raise capital to address care gaps. Palmieri says state and federal governments might step in to improve oversight of deal-making, but that won’t stop forward-thinking health systems and hospitals from pursuing partnerships.
“Private capital is a critical point of any innovation lifecycle,” he says.
Primary care may be “a necessary and fertile access point for healthcare,” Palmieri says, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into scalability and success for either healthcare organizations or private capital. As proven by the struggles of disruptors to gain traction in the space, no one has a good model. To crack that code, he says, investors and health systems “need a different way to think about making investments.”
A key factor for hospitals and health systems is the alignment of goals. What’s the organization’s underlying reason for bringing in private capital? Will it affect the organization’s culture or its goal of value-based care? Are long-term objectives clear and attainable? And what happens when the organization faces headwinds?
With primary care such an uncertain landscape, Palmieri says investment dollars are going into programs that address access to care, particularly for underserved populations. In addition, he says, there’s interest around programs and platforms that combine primary care with other services, such as those that address social determinants of health.
In addition, many healthcare organizations and investment companies are targeting the behavioral health space, including substance abuse treatment. And with the number of people over age 65 expected to eclipse the number of people under age 18 by 2030, there’s a lot of interest in the growing senior care market.
“Our [healthcare] system today is not built for this demographic shift,” Palmieri says.
Palmieri says the rise of consumer-focused healthcare is greatly impacting senior care, as seniors are finding their voice and asking for services that help them stay at home longer and away from assisted living. They’re the ones driving innovation in programs and tools that deliver care to patients when and where they prefer.
“The future of healthcare is going to be about the people who need and use the services, not the people who provide those services,” he points out.
While prevention isn't always possible, there's still much to be done about workplace violence.
On this episode of HL Shorts, we hear from Mary Beth Kingston, executive vice president and CNO at Advocate Health, about how CNOs can help prevent workplace violence. Tune in to hear her insights.
HealthLeaders Innovation Editor Eric Wicklund talks with Chris Palmieri, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Care Alliance, about the current M&A landscape, and how private equity can and should be used to support healthcare innovation.
