What You Should Know:
– The healthcare industry is bracing for an unprecedented wave of provider referrals that formed as thousands of procedures were canceled or delayed due to COVID-19, according to new research conducted by Innovaccer
– . Despite rising concerns, few healthcare organizations are adequately prepared. Innovaccer’s recent survey reveals that more than half of healthcare executives (53%) are concerned about this coming wave of referrals, but less than half of respondents (41%) reported their organizations were fully prepared to manage it. This means that most organizations are at risk of increased patient leakage, the resulting loss of revenue, and potentially, control over care costs and quality.
Revenue Impact of Patient Leakage
According to the survey, 81% of respondents expect patient leakage to hurt revenues, 48% believe it will make it harder to track care, 45% believe it will make it harder to control costs, and 38% believe leakage will make it more difficult to control care quality.
Without the proper strategy, systems, and processes in place, health systems with value-based contracts are likely to see significant patient leakage that creates a host of downstream challenges, including:
– Lost revenue: 81% of survey respondents expect patient leakage to cause revenue loss
– Inability to track care: 48% expect a negative impact on their ability to track care
– Lack of control over care costs: 45% expect a negative impact on their ability to control costs
– Lack of control over care quality: 38% expect a negative impact on their ability to control quality
“Patient leakage costs healthcare systems millions of dollars annually, and for providers in value-based care agreements, these losses have the potential to be even greater,” said Dr. David Nace, Chief Medical Officer at Innovaccer. Survey respondents were also worried about how patient leakage would affect their fee-for-service operations, with 79% of respondents expressing concern.
