Healthcare Market Matrix

On this episode of Healthcare Market Matrix, host John Farkas is joined by Trish Rivard, CEO of Eliciting Insights, a healthcare technology market research and strategy company, and Ben Reigle, CEO of Tarpon Health, a community of providers that are building their own internal automation.

Trish is an accomplished ROI-driven leader and consultant specializing in healthcare technology companies, and boasts an impressive fifteen year record of success. Her expertise lies in steering EBIDTA improvement and fostering market share growth within the healthcare and payment industries. Trish is widely trusted for her exceptional consultative skills, which she employs to prioritize IT projects, enforce ROI accountability, and streamline resource allocation to meet ambitious timelines. Drawing upon her extensive experience as a Healthcare Revenue Cycle Executive, Trish excels in helping companies position themselves for growth, and at guiding them through the process of clarifying their vision, validating market receptiveness for their goals, charting a strategic roadmap, and optimizing resources for optimal outcomes in the ever-evolving healthcare marketplace.

Additionally, Ben has dedicated the majority of his career to the healthcare sector, with a significant focus on revenue cycle management over the last decade. Observing that the revenue cycle had remained unchanged for years, he embarked on a mission to challenge the conventional approach by initiating two groundbreaking projects. In November 2017, Ben launched the RCM Leaders Forum, an exclusive event designed to gather leaders in healthcare revenue cycle management for focused discussions without distractions. Furthermore, Ben has fostered a sense of community through his video podcast “My Good Friends,” which features interviews with event participants and professionals from various fields. Throughout the episode, Ben and Trish expand on the recent Change Healthcare cyber data breach, how the implications of the breach will impact the industry, and how the healthcare ecosystem as a whole will need to proceed going forward.

Show Notes

(0:41) Introducing Trish Rivard and Ben Reigle

(5:34) Analyzing the Recent Cyber Breach

(16:18) About Change Healthcare

(24:59) Impacts of the Cyber Breach

(34:41) What Healthcare Marketers Need to Know about Data

(38:43) Revenue Implications of the Cyber Breach

(43:54) Closing Thoughts

Few healthcare executives have as much experience in the industry as Dave Brooks — currently the Chief Strategy Officer with People.Health, Dave became the CEO and VP of Physician Services for Christus Medical Group in 1996 before becoming the EVP and COO for Central DuPage Health in 2002. He has also served as CEO of Providence Health and Services, president of Ascension St. John Hospital and SVP of their East Region, President of St Joseph Mercy Health in Ann Arbor and Livingston, and the Director of Wayne County Health in Detroit, Michigan. On this episode of Healthcare Market Matrix, Dave joins host, John Farkas to talk about his healthcare career, the path to de-risking technology solutions, and offers valuable insights into population health and its impact on the future of healthcare.

Show Notes

(1:20) Introducing Dave Brooks and His Healthcare Journey

(7:31) How Dave and People.Health Improved Healthcare Systems during the Pandemic

(14:06) Pitching Technology Solutions to Government Entities

(21:12) De-Risking Technology Solutions

(25:23) The Importance of Value Equations and Avoiding Over-Complexity

(36:07) A CEO’s Perspective on Selling to a CEO

(47:39) Addressing Workforce Issues

(51:19) Closing Thoughts

Read a transcript of this episode: https://goratio.com/podcast/from-crisis-to-progress-population-health-in-the-new-normal

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Our healthcare systems will never experience the transformational changes they need unless we consider the system-level solutions that are capable of leading to widespread change. Luckily, Stephanie Lahr and Artisight are on the frontlines of this industry-wide battle. Stephanie began her career as an internal medicine physician, but she was always fascinated by the intersection of health IT and care delivery. Now, several years later, Stephanie has leveraged her experience as a physician to uniquely excel in multiple administrative roles that are not commonly occupied by physicians. Her unique experience and background lay the groundwork for the fascinating conversation she had with host John Farkas, in which they discussed several best practices for creating systematic change in healthcare.

Show Notes

(1:46) Avoiding Traditional Career Paths and Looking To Solve Problems

(7:28) Joining Artisight and Creating Transformation in Healthcare

(11:06) How Hurricane Ike Led Stephanie to a Career in Medical Informatics

(16:11) Bridging the Gap Between Clinicians and IT

(18:32) Why CMIOs Are Impactful Strategic Leaders

(23:09) Stephanie’s Experience Transitioning from CMIO to CIO

(30:25) The Do’s and Don’t’s of Pitching to a CIO

(39:38) Utilizing Empathetic Authority to Solve Problems

(43:05) Prioritizing Solving over Selling

(45:30) Systematic Issues That CMIOs and CIOs Face

(51:18) Closing Thoughts

Summary

On this episode of Healthcare Market Matrix, host John Farkas sits down with Spencer Honeyman, chief commercial officer of Vi Technologies, a company using artificial intelligence to enhance the health outcomes and financial returns of healthcare organizations. John and Spencer dive into how AI-driven solutions are alleviating workloads and improving efficiency for healthcare professionals by optimizing tasks so they can prioritize patients first and foremost.

Additionally, Spencer explores AI's role in engaging high-risk populations by leveraging third-party data for comprehensive views and utilizing optimization frameworks for rapid testing in marketing, underscoring the necessity for de-identified data in marketing endeavors. This emphasizes the industry’s shift towards value-based care and the strategic use of paid media for member engagement. Furthermore, Spencer explains how the implementation of AI-driven solutions can simplify time-consuming administrative tasks like appointment scheduling, claims processing, and data entry, allowing healthcare professionals the ability to focus more on quality care.

Throughout the episode, Spencer outlines Vi Technologies’ approach to demonstrating value by validating key performance indicators, highlights Vi Technologies’ most recent report, and shares a case study of a regional behavioral health clinic utilizing targeted media to significantly reduce acquisition costs and boost conversion rates.

Show Notes

(1:05) Introducing Spencer Honeyman

(5:00) A Deep Dive into Vi’s Recent Report

(6:31) Exploring AI Opportunities in Healthcare

(10:13) How AI Has Alleviated Administrative Tasks

(13:32) Employing AI to Increase Patient Engagement

(20:39) An AI Success Story

(24:15) The Awareness vs. The Adoption of AI

(32:21) Closing Question

Summary

On this episode of Healthcare Market Matrix, host John Farkas delves into the pressing challenges facing healthcare Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) with esteemed guests Todd Nelson, a former hospital CFO and current Director of Partner Relationships at Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), and Trish Rivard, founder of Eliciting Insights. The episode is anchored on findings from HFMA's comprehensive 2024 study, which surveyed one hundred and thirty-five CFOs from one hundred and thirty-two health systems, exploring economic constraints, margin pressures, and emerging trends in healthcare finance.

A staggering forty-seven percent of CFOs identified supply chain issues as a primary margin pressure, while escalating costs in pharmaceuticals and medical devices were noted as significant challenges by eighty-six percent and seventy-three percent, respectively. There's a delicate balance between innovation and cost efficiency, especially when clinician familiarity with products and physician malpractice insurance comes into play. The ongoing labor shortage, particularly in nursing, exacerbates these challenges, pushing health systems to adopt strategies like outsourcing and wage increases to retain staff.

Cybersecurity, though less pressing than supply chain issues, has seen a fifty percent uptick in spending, further amplified by a major vendor data breach. While the potential of AI in healthcare elicits mixed reactions—split equally among those expecting cost reductions, increases, or no change at all—only eight percent of health systems feel ready for AI integration. Vendors are urged to educate health systems on AI implementation and governance for sustainable partnerships.

The episode also sheds light on the pandemic's lasting impact on labor costs, with ninety-six percent of CFOs citing labor as a major concern, and a whopping ninety-nine percent highlighting nursing worries specifically due to contract labor costs. Reimbursement complexities and payer denials, particularly with Medicare Advantage plans, are other significant pain points. Effective vendor relationships and tailored solutions are emphasized as crucial for navigating these multifaceted challenges.

Ultimately, the dialogue underscores the importance of understanding and addressing CFOs' specific pain points for building trust and driving effective, long-term partnerships in the healthcare sector.

Show Notes

(6:12) Understanding CFO Pain Points

(17:42) How Remote Works Increases Competition for IT Talent

(29:22) Entangling Patient Care Decisions with Automated Denials

(35:40) Assessing R&D Cost Value in Healthcare

(45:05) Prioritizing Automation and Cybersecurity over AI

(1:01:24) Building Trust with CFOs to Pitch Health Tech Solutions

Links

John Farkas

Ratio

Spencer Honeyman

Trish Rivard

Eliciting Insights

Todd Nelson

Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)