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| The Monthly Pulse |
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| Cybersecurity takes center stage at AHA annual meeting
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| The Story |
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| Cybersecurity was a core focus of the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) annual meeting, which took place in April. Industry experts discussed the recent attack on Change Healthcare, warning that the healthcare sector will likely see more significant instances of ransomware as attacks grow in scale and frequency. Additionally, they assert that increasingly sophisticated overseas attacks will call for more robust cybersecurity measures. |
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| What You Should Know |
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| Government officials are still working to establish stronger safeguards to protect sensitive patient data from being targeted, which could involve scrutinizing the flow of cryptocurrency. In the meantime, hospitals should focus on data security best practices, including data encryption at a minimum. Third parties present an especially significant risk, so ensuring data is encrypted not only when at rest but also during transit is essential. Leaders from the AHA are also calling for government officials to establish enforceable data security standards for third parties.
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| How the FTC's Ban on Noncompetes Will Shake up Healthcare Workforce Strategies
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| The Story |
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| The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently passed a ban on noncompete agreements in a 3-2 vote, a move which the American Hospital Association (AHA) says will make it more difficult for employers to recruit and retain caregivers. While the FTC claims that the ban will lower healthcare costs over the next decade, critics argue that it will increase labor costs at a time when hospitals are already trying to shrink their budgets. Besides offering better pay, hospitals may also have to provide better benefits to attract and retain providers.
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| What You Should Know |
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| Although the ban won’t take effect until 120 days after publication in the Federal Register, it has already seen significant pushback, including a lawsuit from the Chamber of Commerce. Further, there are exemptions to the ban, including nonprofit organizations. Senior executives earning more than $151,164 annually are also exempt from the ban. Due to the fact that the ban creates an uneven playing field, affected healthcare organizations will have to consider creative approaches when rethinking their recruitment strategies.
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| CMS proposes 2.6% payment increase for inpatient hospitals next year |
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| The Story |
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| The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a 2.6% payment increase for inpatient hospitals for 2025, which would increase payments by $3.2 billion. The rate is the lowest proposed increase since 2019, including the 3.1% that was finalized for 2024. Hospital groups including the American Hospital Association (AHA) argue that the increase would fail to compensate for recent years of inflation and the increasing costs of labor, medication, and equipment. |
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| What You Should Know |
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| If the proposed rule is passed, for-profit hospitals would receive the 2.6% payment update next year, while nonprofit facilities will see a 2.3% increase. Long-term care hospitals would receive an increase of 1.6% to adjust for an anticipated decrease in high-cost outlier payments. Additionally, the CMS has proposed a standardized reporting structure for respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, the flu, and RSV, following public health agencies’ struggle to collect and manage relevant data at the onset of the pandemic.
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| Leadership Reflections |
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Crucial Conversations
I recently read the book Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory. This book covers numerous tools and communication strategies — skills which I believe can benefit just about anyone at any stage in their career. It’s rich with valuable takeaways, but I’ll cover a few in particular that stood out to me.
Acronyms that include 3-5 key takeaways represent an effective method of remembering a set of concepts. In the book, the acronym STATE is introduced as a way to structure your conversation. This framework allows you to address a conversation that may include high emotion, high stakes, and/or differences of opinion around core facts in a non-threatening way. Here is a brief overview of the five concepts.
Share your facts - This step provides an opportunity for the initiator to list key facts and circumstances as objectively as possible. The focus is on facts over feelings or interpretations. This is about what happened based on personal experience and observations. Any areas of uncertainty are best left out of this portion of the conversation, or, if introduced, should be noted as uncertainties.
Tell your story - In this portion, the focus shifts from the facts to how the initiator is experiencing the outcomes from those facts. This is the place to explore how the key facts and circumstances were interpreted or felt by the initiator.
Ask for the other’s path -
Now the conversation opens up to the other party. This is an invitation by the initiator for a response. Were there any facts that deserve clarification? Are there aspects of the story that need further exploration? What story is developing from the respondent's perspective?
Talk tentatively -
Particularly in circumstances where the stakes are high, it may be natural to speak assertively. However, this can lead to the conversation shutting down. By speaking tentatively, we leave space to explore differences in perception.
Encourage testing -
Allow space for both parties to discover a shared interpretation of facts and circumstances. This is a collaborative process where both participants feel heard and understood.
I encourage you to read this excellent book. Personally, my initial reaction in difficult situations is to practice avoidance, which is never a good strategy. The tools provided in the book have been instrumental in helping me prepare for difficult conversations and circumvent the tendency to avoid them. My final takeaway is that these techniques require practice to master. Each time I utilize the model and engage in the resulting conversation, I get just a bit better.
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Healthcare Financial Management Association 2024 Annual Conference |
| Mon., Jun. 24 - Thurs., Jun. 27 |
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2024 American Hospital Association Leadership Summit |
| Sun., Jul. 21 - Tues., Jul. 23 |
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MossAdams 2024 Executive Health Care Conference |
| Wed., Nov. 6 - Fri., Nov. 8 |
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Becker's Healthcare 12th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable |
| Mon., Nov. 11 - Thurs., Nov. 13 |
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