Pivot Point Consulting Issues Q4 2021 Quarterly Trends Report

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pivot Point Consulting, a Vaco Company and #1 Best in KLAS Overall IT Services Firm (2020), today released the latest edition of its Quarterly Pivot report. The insights and innovations included in the report outline where the healthcare industry stands in the final quarter of the year.

"As we head into the home stretch of 2021, the healthcare industry will continue to face the wide-ranging ripple effects associated with the ongoing pandemic," said Rachel Marano, Pivot Point Consulting Managing Partner and Co-Founder. "Looking ahead, we anticipate the 'Great Resignation' will have a significant impact on healthcare labor dynamics, while other factors will linger such as technology companies acting as potential industry disrupters and enhanced federal funding for digital health."

The Quarterly Pivot highlights are included below. For the complete Q4 Quarterly Pivot, including additional insights such as industry innovations and important events from Pivot Point Consulting's subject matter experts, please download the full report here.  

Managed Services:

The "Great Resignation" and Its Impact on Healthcare: The summer of 2021 continued the trend of labor departure, with healthcare and tech being some of the hardest-hit industries. Resignations in healthcare have risen at 4.5% and technology fields followed suit at 3.6%, both well above industry norms. These departures particularly impact teams supporting clinical systems, including EHRs.

Mergers and Acquisitions and Managed Services: While health systems expand their footprints across their localities, implementing clinical systems and platforms can be extremely burdensome and place enormous strain on existing IT resources. We see many organizations looking at unique approaches to shift support to optimization workflows and outcomes.  

Virtual Care:

Competitive Marketing: As more retailers like Walmart and CVS enter the healthcare market, they bring increased access to services, and thus competition. These retailers bring robust marketing and significant brand recognition, which is drawing patients away from traditional health centers. To maintain competitiveness, health centers must adapt by recognizing the consumerist nature of the new entrants and increasing their marketing prowess through direct marketing via omnichannel methods, along with a strong social media presence.

Increased Digital Health Funding and Governmental Support: As signaled by Medicare proposing telehealth codes be permanently added to the physician fee schedule in 2022, these services are here to stay. In addition, numerous agencies have released funding to support the initiation and growth of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) programs throughout the country, including the Veterans Administration and USDA for rural health issues, namely access to care, with telehealth being a large driver in resolving these issues.

Data Analytics:
Amazon continues to expand its healthcare reach and take advantage of its technology platforms and massive amounts of data. Amazon recently announced it will begin providing in-person and telehealth care in 20 major U.S. cities in 2022 with a focus on underserved populations. This expansion is expected to have a positive impact on data insights for patient populations who may have been previously underserved. 

Data & Value-Based Care: As more healthcare systems continue to move toward Value-Based Care, demand for data and analytics infrastructures has never been higher. Healthcare organizations are moving their platforms to the cloud to improve data sharing and data analytics capabilities. Additionally, RPM is a platform that continues to grow in this space. Healthcare systems are expected to integrate RPM data to develop a holistic approach to evaluating patient health and driving overall quality.

HIE Growth: As Value-Based Care models continue to grow, providers in rural areas continue to struggle with standardized mechanisms to provide population health data to public health agencies. Many of these providers will look to join Health Information Exchanges (HIE) to address gaps in gathering patient data.

Epic's challenges with AI algorithms are driving healthcare organizations to new methods for real-time clinical decision support. This will present an opportunity for new technologies to emerge that will integrate analytics platforms directly into the EHR and seamlessly into provider workflows. 

Disruptors Experiencing Disruption: Google recently shut down its Google Health Division, while Apple and Amazon have also faced setbacks as they seek to expand into healthcare. Previously, these tech giants have touted their investments in healthcare, but these setbacks show the difficulty of entering the complexity of HIT. These giants continue, however, to push forward on different fronts. Don't be surprised if they begin to offer new healthcare products and services and re-emerge as leaders in the space even though it may appear they are slowing down their efforts for now.

EHR:
Epic's reach continues, signs Walmart and HCN: Both Walmart and HCN recently announced their respective launches of Epic and associated planned rollouts. Walmart is first implementing Epic in four of its new Walmart Health Centers. HCN's implementation will reach 2.6 million patients across 16 states. 

Athenahealth Owners Exploring IPO or Sale: Veritas Capital and Elliott Investment Management acquired athenahealth three years ago. Now the firms are looking to sell the company or offer an initial public offering. The capital firms are targeting a $20 billion valuation.

EHR Vendors Requiring Vaccination: Major EHR vendors Epic and Cerner announced that vaccinations will be required for all US-based employees. Epic made the announcement in August with a deadline of all employees being vaccinated of October 1. When announced in August, Epic reported 97% of its staff were already fully vaccinated. Cerner also recently announced a similar requirement with a deadline of December 8.

ERP:

Lessons Learned from the Pandemic: Virtually all industries are working to shore up their supply chain processes and systems to help ensure a consistent experience for vendors and for customers. This is especially important in healthcare to ensure a seamless delivery of quality clinical care to patients and provide necessary protective equipment for healthcare workers. The good news is that many organizations have started building a supply chain roadmap to implement changes based on lessons learned from other industries.

RCM:
RPM Reimbursement Here to Stay: With CMS's clarifications on RPM reimbursement, healthcare organizations will continue to implement new monitoring technology, and implement the clinical infrastructure to support care and its subsequent reimbursement.

Digital Health Strategy: Spurred by expanding telehealth services and access to smartphones, CFOs and other healthcare executives are leaning into developing digital health strategies, and healthcare organizations are creating new executive roles to lead these efforts. As healthcare services continue to commoditize, CFOs are looking to gain an ROI by providing patients quicker access to care, across a wider geographic footprint. 

"The healthcare landscape is only growing more competitive as the year comes to a close, which is why it's important for leaders at both payer and provider organizations to keep their attention on emerging trends," said Marano. "The pandemic has resulted in significant challenges for the industry as a whole, but also has presented the opportunity for meaningful change if leaders embrace innovative business strategies. As always, Pivot Point Consulting remains committed to assisting its clients to find the best path forward for success."

To learn more about visit PivotPointConsulting.com.

About Pivot Point Consulting

Pivot Point Consulting, a KLAS ranked national healthcare IT consulting firm, provides implementation, staff augmentation and advisory services. They are leaders in electronic health record (EHR) consulting services, strategic planning, project management, PMO, legacy and go-live support. Their seasoned consultants are highly qualified and knowledgeable in all aspects of healthcare technology and average more than 10 years of healthcare IT experience, possessing multiple certifications. Pivot Point employs more than 95 employees in 30 states and has provided consulting services to 40-plus healthcare organizations. Clients range from large multi-hospital networks to academic institutions, pediatric hospitals and local community clinics. Established in 2008, the firm has earned a number of industry and workplace quality awards.

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