Optimize the value of your marketing investment; focus on tracking and managing census-leading indicators.
Your organization should consistently and accurately track inquiries/referrals, conversions, admissions, CMI, LOS and satisfaction. You'll be surprised how much value this can generate. By establishing a process-based system to capture this information, you can use that data to improve performance, enhance revenue and boost your bottom line.
The current thinking on the Healthcare Reform Bill is that hospitals (and doctors) will be penalized for having too many of their Medicare Part A patients who have been referred to lower levels of care returned to the hospital within a short time with the same or similar diagnosis.
Whether a free standing SNF or large CCRC, word of mouth referrals is a must in today’s competitive marketplace. You can increase your word of mouth referrals by leveraging your relationship with residents and families that have been “touched” by your services and programs. Remind them of your expertise and leadership in senior care and their good experience with your organization. Keep in mind that communicating with them via email can save time and money.
The Affordable Care Act is in full swing and will change your current referral relationships. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are being formed in your marketplace with the desire to lower costs and improve outcomes. Your current Medicare referrals are at risk if your organization is not included. To prepare and protect your flow of Medicare referrals, re-look at the way you are projecting your image to referral sources and physicians. Make sure your building’s name and brand reflect that you are an expert in short-term rehab and sub-acute care.
Start to protect your Medicare referrals now!
Health care reform will change referral relationships. So to protect your Medicare referrals in the future, start communicating your clinical capabilities and successful outcomes to referral sources, physicians and consumers right now. This will enhance your image as a provider of superior short-term rehabilitation and sub-acute care and help to maintain or increase your Medicare revenues.
Is there a way to anticipate where my census is heading so I can proactively take steps to avoid a dip or maximize an up-trend?
How well are referral sources performing – as compared with previous periods? Has something changed? Are you getting less referrals or too many referrals you cannot (or do not want to) make a bed offer on?
How well are you converting referrals into admissions? Often a small increase in conversions can have a major impact on census.
Is census falling despite the fact that your referrals and admissions are still strong? Perhaps it’s your LOS that’s the culprit.
Carefully reviewing facility denials can reveal important information about what referral sources think of you. If you are continually getting inappropriate referrals, that can be a sign that you may need to educate (or re-educate) referral sources about your services and capabilities.
Seeing too many facility denials? Have senior management review every denial, every day. You will be surprised at how this process can reduce facility denials and increase admissions when staff knows their decisions are being reviewed. It’s also a great way to uncover misunderstandings the admissions staff may have about admissions policy.
Tracking Census Drivers™, analyzing them and acting upon your findings is often the quickest, easiest and least costly way to optimize admissions and increase census.