By Jonathan Wiik, Vice President, Health Insights, FinThrive
There’s a certain charm that the South holds, which is why the HFMA Region 5 Southeastern Summit remains one of my favorites. This gathering, which I have had the pleasure of attending and speaking at multiple times, always brings value. The unique healthcare landscape of the South — characterized by its distinct payer mix, demographics, infrastructure, and delivery systems across Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee — provides an enriching learning experience.
This year, we marveled at the blend of tradition and technology in Huntsville, Alabama, our gracious host city.
Powerful Insights from Keynote and Panel Discussions
The conference jumped to an inspiring start with a keynote by Israel “DT” Del Toro SMS USAF (ret.), who spoke about leadership in life and on the battlefield. He is an embodiment of resilience, surviving a near-fatal IED explosion in Afghanistan and overcoming over 100 reconstructive surgeries over five years.
With his indomitable spirit, he became the first-ever 100% disabled airman to reenlist in the Air Force and won a gold medal in the 2016 Invictus Games. His motivational words to “never quit fixing healthcare” resonated deeply with all present.
Following the keynote, a panel of CFOs took the stage to discuss the “labor-demic,” emphasizing the need for strategic planning to meet the challenges posed by labor costs. They shared their experiences in maintaining staffing levels despite competition and market changes. They emphasized the importance of evaluating long-term strategies with an open mindset, focusing on all expenditure levels, particularly staffing and supplies.
A second CFO panel brought insights into the impact of the new administration on healthcare organizations. They highlighted concerns about the potential risks to programs and policies, emphasizing the importance of developing strong partnerships with payers to ensure revenue stability.
Katie Logan, Managing Director at KPMG, then steered the discussion towards consumerism in healthcare, outlining the essential pillars of consumer engagement and the importance of making healthcare easy, seamless, and transparent.
An executive panel stirred the conversation about Revenue Cycle Management (revenue cycle management) and patient experience, discussing the cost pressures faced by hospitals and the essential role of price transparency.
National HFMA Chair Marc Scher continued the discussion about resilience in the healthcare industry, focusing on the theme of “sempre avanti” (always forward).
The Future of Healthcare: Technology and Strategy
An RCM panel then presented on technology, which always delivers some good content at a conference. RCM leaders Joe Bedwell (DCH), Debra Carter (Grady), Chris Loftis (Orlando Health), Leah McTague(Piedmont), and Jamie Watson(Emory) all shared their insights on RCM strategy and technology enablement.
The group was aligned that healthcare has not kept pace with technology, and that with EHR conversions, M&A and changing payer rules, many workflows were not optimized before technology was thrown at the problems.
Denials have been a focus, as they are in most organizations. Mr. Bedwell (DCH) shared that his organization is not traditionally staffed, and that they have a “broad mix of tenure across the organization from 4 days to 40 years.”
He stated it is of the upmost importance to get the teams standardized in their learning before implementing new technologies which can make “bad things become worse.”
The conference concluded with sessions on payer relations, RPA and the future of healthcare. The payer relations panel was notably interesting, as it had panelists from managed care on the provider side, and provider reps on the payer side.
It was refreshing to see some level of collaboration there, where each party assumed some level of risk and were aligned on outcomes for the community. Although value-based care has moved at a glacial pace, with each inch it moves it helps providers and payers come to common ground on costs and outcomes.
My good friend Josh Robinson, from Signature Performance, presented with Chris Spady from Common Spirit on where healthcare is failing and how we can have hope in technology to fix it.
They both shared heartwarming stories about their families and their interactions with healthcare and how it must get better – clinically and financially. Payer relations and accountability was at the heart of their discussion.
Hospitals are out gunned technologically speaking, and that must change. Payers are incentivized to deny claims, and providers are put in a tough position of doing things for free or at a significant discount that would not cover costs. They both emphatically encouraged the room to get engaged, get data and get busy to fix healthcare – for the next generation’s sake.
Closing Thoughts: Resilience and Tenacity in Southern Healthcare
Each year, the HFMA Region 5 Southeastern Summit provides valuable insights and perspectives from different facets of the healthcare industry. It’s a testament to the tenacity and dedication of those striving to make positive changes in Southern healthcare. Thank you for an excellent conference — until next year, take care and stay well.
About the Author
Jonathan G. Wiik, MSHA, MBA, CHFP
Vice President, Health Insights
Jonathan Wiik, VP of Health Insights at FinThrive, has over 25 years of healthcare experience in acute care, health IT and insurance settings. He started his career as a hospital transporter and served in clinical operations, patient access, billing, case management and many other roles at a large not-for-profit acute care hospital and prominent commercial payer before serving as Chief Revenue Officer. Wiik works closely with the market and hospitals on industry best practices for revenue management. He is considered an expert in the industry for healthcare finance, legislation, revenue management and strategic transformation.
