From 2012 through 2017, SNF occupancies fell from nearly 86% to less than 82%. This drop is associated with a number of factors, including the influence of Medicare Managed Care contracts navigating shorter length of stay in SNF, the impact of bundled payment models trying to constrain spend by reducing the time spent in inpatient PAC settings, and the growth in beneficiaries electing to bypass SNF to receive PAC services through home health. Overcoming these challenges to build census is comprised of two main components; attracting and providing superior quality outcomes to short-stay rehabilitation clients, and providing quality care and delivering an exceptional customer experience to maintain residential patients.
As consumers assess the options available to them for healthcare, the quality of care provided and the availability of services customized to their individual needs are two factors that determine which provider they select. ACP helps healthcare providers differentiate the quality of services for the patients they serve. In an independent analysis of publicly-available FY2016 5-star Quality Measure data for Skilled Nursing Facilitiesa, The Moran Company found that ACP established customers have, on average, 6% higher ratings in the quality domain of the 5-Star rating system, than non-ACP customers. Why is this important? The 5-Star Quality rating system is publically available for review by consumers looking at their options for care. Additionally, a facility’s 5-Star Rating can influence whether or not they can be included in a bundled payment model or an ACO. Facilities with a less-than-optimal 5-Star rating can use ACP Clinical Programs to help drive improvement in quality measures and boost their overall 5-Star rating.
ACP also helps healthcare providers attract a higher volume of patients by offering customized clinical programs that appeal to the specific care needs of individuals in post-acute care, whether those individuals are seeking short-term rehabilitation for an acute condition, or proactive management of chronic issues. These programs include Orthopedic Rehabilitation, Fall Prevention and Balance, Neurologic Rehabilitation, Pain Management, Continence Improvement, Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Wound Management, and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation.
Importantly, ACP’s Clinical Solutions provide superior clinical results. In an analysis of functional outcomes comparing patients that received care augmented with biophysical agents to those that did not, The Moran Company reviewed admission and discharge CARE Tool Assessment data for over 25,000 Medicare A stays over a 17 month period. The results of that comparison demonstrated that in the self-care domain, the use of one or more ACP biophysical agents yielded an improved outcome of 38%. In contrast, treatment delivered without the use of biophysical agents yielded an improvement of 27%, demonstrating an 11 percentage point difference between treatment with ACP physical agent modalities vs. treatment without.
In the mobility domain, the use of one or more ACP biophysical agents yielded an improved outcome of 66% compared to a 43% improvement for treatment delivered without a modality, a 23 percentage point difference between treatment with ACP biophysical agents vs. treatment without.
ACP can help skilled nursing facility operators overcoming census challenges by attracting and facilitating superior quality outcomes to short-stay rehabilitation clients, and by providing quality care and delivering an exceptional customer experience to maintain residential patients.
Contact ACP to learn more about our clinical program offerings.
800.350.1100 or acp-customersupport@hanger.com