Bruce Baron

Providers are undergoing a major change. Gone are the days when you could compete as a stand-alone entity in which the goal was to fill beds and apartments. Future success will be driven by a provider’s ability to improve outcomes and efficiency across the continuum of care – including:

  • Doctors’ Offices
  • Hospitals
  • Home Health and Home Care Agencies
  • Ambulance Providers
  • Senior Living Communities
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities and Hospices

Accountable Care Organizations were created to drive collaboration across the care continuum to, in theory, improve outcomes at reduced costs. Thus far, the results have been mixed, though many ACOs are proactively meeting with eldercare providers to demand cross collaboration and communication or risk losing patients.

“Addressing a lack of coordination is an imperative and is an opportunity.  Meeting people’s needs and creating value by meeting their needs as efficiently as possible – that’s the overall strategy. And the ability to reach across sectors and to collaborate is actually becoming a competitive advantage,” said Thomas H. Lee, Chief Medical Officer at Press Ganey Associates.

Technology can play a key role in the collaboration across the care continuum.  Communications technology that encourages collaboration among various stakeholders can positively impact outcomes and efficiency.

At VoiceFriend, we provide evolving solutions that result in improved outcomes at lower costs for all providers across the care continuum. Solutions that enable:

  • Patient and resident engagement
  • Care plan conformance
  • Family and caregiver alerts and notifications
  • Mission critical staffing alerts – including open shifts, emergencies, training requirements, and licensing and certification management

These solutions are consistent with the direction of ACOs and can encourage increased collaboration. Eldercare providers need to consider ways to improve outcomes at a lower cost. Collaboration involving staff, patients or residents, and families – along the care continuum – is critical to each provider’s success.

Bruce Baron is CEO of VoiceFriend. For more information on solutions to reduce expenses, make staff more productive and increase patient and resident engagement and compliance to care plans, contact VoiceFriend at 781-996-3123 or email us at [email protected].