Turning Expensive Health Disparities into Economic Opportunities
Achieving health equity is no longer just a moral obligation for healthcare organizations. It’s also a significant step toward improving revenue and reducing healthcare costs. That’s one reason why today’s health systems need a business strategy for addressing health equity effectively.
It’s an area where health tech — and specifically, equitable sharing of healthcare data — is poised to make a significant difference.
Taking a Closer Look
Recently, I presented a Georgia HFMA Chapter webinar, “From Expensive Disparities to Economic Opportunities: The Key to Health Equity ROI.” I shared results from a CHIME survey of healthcare IT leaders, commissioned by Consensus, that showed 62% of respondents say health equity is among their organization’s top five priorities. Another 8% said it was their top priority, and 25% said it was among their organization’s top three priorities. Among HFMA webinar attendees, 57% said health equity ranked among their top five priorities.
I would argue that the economic impact of health inequities make it a top concern for healthcare leaders:
- Deloitte estimates the cost of health inequities at $320 billion annually in avoidable healthcare costs.
- Most organizations can’t afford to shoulder these costs, Deloitte says. As a result, most healthcare executives plan to increase investments in health equity this year.
Establishing a business case for strategic investments that advance health equity starts with understanding where breakdowns in eliminating disparities in care exist. One of the most common sources of disparities occurs when health systems struggle to share patient information with healthcare’s “digital have-nots,” organizations like post-acute care facilities, substance use disorder clinics, behavioral health clinics and more that didn’t qualify for EHR implementation incentives and can’t afford to implement one on their own.
Health systems frequently run into roadblocks when trying to strengthen information exchange with small providers that don’t own an EHR and don’t have access to the latest interoperability technology. The impact runs deep. Breakdowns in information sharing affect care coordination, the ability to make or follow up with referrals, and more, affecting both quality of care and revenue.
In fact, 85% of Georgia HFMA webinar attendees said challenges in sharing information with small facilities impact health equity and revenue “a lot” — for example, through higher readmissions, duplicate tests and sicker patients.
Yet just 30% of larger providers are working one-on-one with smaller providers to address this challenge, according to the CHIME survey. Nearly 60% say it’s a problem they’re not equipped to solve.
Finding a Way Forward
It typically takes 1-2 days or 3-5 days to share data with small and post-acute facilities when an EHR or interoperable connection doesn’t exist, healthcare IT leaders say. In these instances, providers overwhelmingly send information via paper fax (nearly 46%), not digital fax (29%). That’s a finding that was corroborated by attendees of the Georgia HFMA webinar.
Today, there are simple tools that can help bridge gaps in data sharing that impact health equity. These tools incorporate technology most healthcare organizations already own: digital fax.
For example, Consensus Clarity transforms digital unstructured documents — from PDFs to scans to images with handwritten text — into useful and actionable data that can automatically be applied to structured data fields in the EHR. This process, called intelligent data extraction, uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to pull the needed information and send it to clinicians and staff in a structured format directly within their workflow.
AI-powered tools like Clarity are paving the way for better access to care, outcomes and experiences as well as more equitable care. They strengthen the ability to make and follow through on referrals, protecting health system revenue. They also optimize resources across the continuum of care.
Leveraging Health Tech for Improved Equity and Revenue
It’s time to explore the difference intelligent data extraction could make for health equity, efficiency and revenue for your organization.
View our CHIME survey report to compare where your organization stands on tech equity in care and find practical ideas for strengthening your approach. Talk with us about how to put a pragmatic solution for closing gaps in information sharing into play.
With the right tools and a thoughtful business strategy, your organization can make bigger moves toward eliminating health disparities while decreasing costs and boosting revenue.
