Report: Engaging Family Caregivers, Diversifying Referral Mix are Keys to Sustainability

Home Health Care News | By Patrick Filibin
 
Home-based care providers have an opportunity to differentiate themselves by honing in on what they’re great at.
 
A number of factors are transforming the environment in which home-based care providers operate: the rise of value-based care, regulatory scrutiny, reimbursement falling behind rising costs and staffing shortages.
 
Amid all of that, more than ever, providers need to sell their worth.
 
“Whether it’s value-based care, talking about diversifying risk or other factors, the opportunity to meaningfully differentiate an organization through the lens of its strengths is actually a tremendous opportunity for smaller providers to compete against larger ones,” Transcend Strategy Group President and CEO Stephanie Johnston told Home Health Care News.
 
In a new research report, Johnson and her colleagues outlined a number of potential strategies that providers can follow to be better equipped for change in home-based care.
 
It’s no longer enough for agencies to trust that high-quality care and word-of-mouth reputation alone will sustain their businesses, the report argues.
 
In order for agencies to thrive today and in the future, a strong value proposition to payers is a critical aspect of an agency’s business operation. In particular, having a diversified referral mix could be a core component for driving sustainability.
 
“Way too often — and still recently — we hear people tell us that they are still relying on a primary referral source to drive volume,” Johnston said. “Basic risk management will tell you that [strategy] is too risky for today’s care providers at home. They need to think about diversifying their referral mix.”
 
Johnston compared it to an investment portfolio. Logic would tell an investor not to go all in on one investment asset. Instead, one would manage risk across multiple assets.
 
“That’s exactly what home care providers should do,” Johnston said. “They should think about a referral portfolio that they’re managing that should include relationships with physicians, hospitals, SNFs and patients and families themselves.”
 
Relying on hospitals as a primary referral source, where highly acute patients are likely to come from, can create unwanted exposure when staffing becomes a problem, for instance.
From a staffing perspective, Transcend’s report also encourages providers to embrace family caregivers. Many providers, the report argues, are focusing on fighting for the same pieces of the pie.
 
By looking outside the box and welcoming family caregivers into the employee fold, the pie can be expanded.

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