Latest / Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast / Advancing Post Acute Care Through Technology and Human Connection with Katrina Melton

Transcript

Advancing Post Acute Care Through Technology and Human Connection with Katrina Melton · Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast

• 0:02
  - The strategic agenda facing hospital and health system
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  - leaders right now is not a short list.
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  - Growth in a consolidating market, sustainable margins in
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  - a reimbursement environment that rarely moves in your
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  - favor,
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  - a tech investment cycle that demands both urgency
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  - and discipline,
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  - and a workforce story that is still being
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  - written.
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  - Eker's fourteenth annual CEO CFO roundtable brings together
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  - 400 speakers across four days of sessions that
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  - are designed to help c suite leaders benchmark,
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  - Not in the abstract, but against the real
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  - decisions they'll face heading into the next year.
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  - It's the kind of event you leave with
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  - a clear sense of where you stand and
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  - what comes next.
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  - So join us November second through the fifth
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  - at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago,
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  - and come ready to do the hard thinking.
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  - Register on our events page at beckershospitalreview.com
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  - by clicking on the events tab in the
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  - upper right.
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  - Welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast. I'm Mariah
• 1:01
  - Taylor, assistant editor, and I'm thrilled to be
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  - speaking with Katrina Melton, system vice president of
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  - post acute and palliative care at Centara Health.
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  - Thank you so much for joining me today.
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  - I'm really excited to learn more about your
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  - strategic vision on post acute technology innovations. But
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  - before we dive into all my questions, I'd
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  - love you to introduce yourself and tell us
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  - a little bit about your background.
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  - Thanks, Mariah. Appreciate it. It's a pleasure to
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  - be with you today, and I appreciate you
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  - having me on.
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  - So my name is Katrina Melton. I'm the
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  - systems vice president for post acute and palliative
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  - care for Centerra Health.
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  - I've been here for about two years now,
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  - and I am a physical therapist by background.
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  - So I've spent most of my career in
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  - post acute in some way, shape, or form,
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  - and really have found a passion for how
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  - do we, how do we better connect
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  - our,
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  - post acute partners and our community partners with
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  - our health system partners
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  - and physician practices
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  - in order to optimize the care of our
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  - patients. So this is something that we're talking
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  - about today that I'm very, very passionate about,
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  - and I'm looking forward to our conversation.
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  - And I am so excited too because we've
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  - worked together in the past on a few
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  - articles. And in one of those interviews, you
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  - described the future of post acute care as
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  - the intersection of high-tech and high touch, which
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  - I thought was such an interesting quote. So
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  - can you give us a little bit more
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  - on what that means and what that looks
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  - like on a day to day in your
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  - organization?
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  - Yeah. I'd be happy to. Thanks. You know,
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  - I think today, with technology moving as quickly
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  - as it is,
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  - that intersection between high-tech and high touch is
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  - really is really a work in progress.
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  - We're kinda at a pivotal moment where technology
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  - and human connections are coming together in brand
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  - new ways, and as healthcare continues to evolve,
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  - that really our greatest opportunity isn't simply just
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  - implementing technology.
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  - It's really being thoughtful about using it in
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  - a way that better supports our clinicians
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  - and gives them more time to focus on
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  - what matters most, which is caring for our
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  - patients.
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  - We've implemented several tools here. We've implemented ambient
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  - listening, automation, predictive analytics,
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  - all of which help reduce our administrative burden,
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  - identify risks earlier, which is really a unique
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  - piece of the AI world that we have
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  - in play now,
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  - and creating more personalized care experiences. And all
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  - of this is allowing us to work smarter,
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  - improve our outcomes, and meet our patients better
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  - where they are.
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  - So when I think about the intersection that
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  - we talked about here,
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  - it really boils down to technology helps our
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  - clinicians connect the dots across that patient's journey,
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  - allowing for more coordinated care without losing that
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  - human connection. And I think, for me, that's
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  - what I mean by that intersection,
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  - not losing that
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  - that real person to person touch, but having
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  - the supportive technology
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  - to help us be more efficient in that.
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  - Amazing. Now as a reporter who's kind of
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  - on the outskirts of everything going on in
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  - health care, it seems like post acute has
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  - historically kind of lagged behind acute care when
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  - it comes to technology
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  - adaptation.
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  - But recently, I've been seeing a lot more
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  - reports and a lot more cool new technologies,
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  - AI and otherwise,
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  - that are coming just for post acute care.
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  - So why is all of that changing now?
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  - You know, I think that's a that's a
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  - great question. Really historically,
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  - post acute care wasn't necessarily viewed with the
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  - same strategic importance as the acute care, and
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  - even ambulatory.
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  - So
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  - a lot of the investment in technology, both
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  - from an implementation as well as a development
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  - standpoint,
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  - was concentrated within the hospital and ambulatory settings.
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  - That's changing now because healthcare is increasingly recognizing
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  - that our outcomes are shaped across the entire
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  - care continuum,
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  - not just in the walls of the hospital.
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  - And so I've often said that acute care
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  - saves lives, but post acute care shapes lives.
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  - So every setting has a vital role, yet
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  - the care that the patient receives after and
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  - sometimes even before or instead of a hospitalization
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  - have the greatest influence on their recovery, the
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  - patient's independence,
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  - and most importantly, their quality of life. So
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  - I think that's why
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  - post acute and palliative care in particular have
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  - become such critical components
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  - of value based care and population health strategies.
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  - As healthcare increasingly
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  - recognizes and is reimbursed
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  - for the impact post acute care has on
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  - outcomes,
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  - as well as patient experience and the total
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  - cost of care, investment in technology is kinda
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  - naturally falling.
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  - That's really interesting. And it kind of goes
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  - along with something a lot of other leaders
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  - have been talking about, which is that transition
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  - between hospitals and a post acute setting, whether
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  - that's, you know, skilled nursing facilities, home health,
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  - etcetera.
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  - It seems like that transition period is a
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  - common place where patients can start falling through
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  - the cracks.
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  - Which tools have made the biggest difference in
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  - coordinating those hands off?
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  - Yeah, I think that's a enormous opportunity in
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  - healthcare as a whole. And one of the
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  - things that I'm personally most passionate about is
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  - making sure patients don't feel like they're navigating
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  - the complexities of healthcare alone,
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  - right? Historically, as you said,
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  - transitions between the hospital post acute providers and
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  - outpatient care were managed in silos, and we
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  - relied on old school telephones and phone calls,
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  - faxes, and disconnected processes,
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  - which ultimately resulted in opportunities where patients can
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  - fall through the cracks. I think the biggest
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  - difference today is that we have tools that
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  - create visibility across the care continuum.
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  - We have shared health records,
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  - care coordination platforms, referral management technologies,
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  - and analytics
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  - that allow us to track the patient's journey,
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  - and ensure that those critical handoffs are not
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  - missed and they're not... They don't fall for
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  - the cracks.
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  - What's even more exciting as we as we
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  - enter the world of AI is that our
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  - growing ability to identify risks earlier. So we
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  - can recognize when a patient might benefit from
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  - additional support
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  - before a crisis occurs and they fall through
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  - that crack.
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  - That said, I'm gonna say what I said
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  - earlier, which is technology isn't the solution by
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  - itself. The best outcomes are gonna happen when
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  - great technology pairs with compassionate clinicians and support
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  - teams who take the time to engage the
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  - patients and the families. I think technology
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  - provides the, you know, the insights for our
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  - clinicians, but our people turn that insight into
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  - the exceptional care.
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  - I love that. I think there definitely is
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  - something so powerful when you can bring the
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  - right people with the right technology, and it
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  - just becomes magical.
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  - Kind of on that thread, one place that
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  - technology has really exploded is administrative tasks. Right?
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  - And I think that's where we all love
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  - technology the most, is reducing that burden, doing
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  - more automation, all of that. So within post
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  - acute care, which administrative tasks have you been
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  - able to reduce or to automate, and what
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  - have the results been?
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  - Yeah. Well, first of all, I wanna... I'm
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  - glad you asked this question.
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  - One of the biggest opportunities we have in
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  - health care is reducing the administrative burden that
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  - takes clinicians away from the patient.
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  - So across post acute care, we've been implementing
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  - automation in areas like referral intake, authorization management,
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  - helping us to meet our regulatory requirements, scheduling,
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  - capacity management, and care coordination.
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  - We're also exploring AI enabled tools that can
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  - assist with chart review, referral processing,
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  - and other administrative and clinical workflows.
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  - I think we're still in the early stages
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  - of that journey, but the results so far
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  - have been really meaningful.
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  - And one example that I'm really excited about
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  - is a tool that we recently implemented
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  - that provides our clinicians in the home health
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  - and hospice space with an audio summary
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  - of key patient information while they're traveling to
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  - the patient's home.
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  - And that something this simple, it saves time,
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  - it creates consistency,
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  - and it allows our clinicians to arrive to
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  - the patient's home better prepared.
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  - Ultimately, I think, you know, as I've been
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  - saying, the goal isn't to replace people. I
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  - think we hear that a lot in technology.
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  - It's not to replace people with technology, it's
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  - to remove inefficiencies
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  - so our clinicians can focus more of their
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  - time and energy on that hands on care.
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  - Absolutely.
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  - And now I'd like to talk about probably
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  - the thorn in everyone's side, which is the
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  - financial aspect of this because margins across health
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  - care are very thin, and in post acute
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  - care, they seem to be the thinnest of
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  - all. How do you decide which technology investments
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  - are worth it, and how do you measure
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  - the return?
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  - Yeah. I think that's a great question because
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  - in post acute care, every investment must solve
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  - a real problem and create meaningful value.
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  - When we're evaluating technology, we really start by
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  - asking, will it improve outcomes? Will it enhance
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  - patient and caregiver experience?
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  - Or will it... And or I guess, will
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  - it help our teams work more effectively?
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  - We intentionally prioritize solutions that improve access,
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  - that strengthen care coordination,
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  - support our teams, and help patients receive the
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  - right care at the right time.
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  - To the second part of your question,
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  - we, of course, look at traditional metrics like
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  - productivity and operational efficiencies, cost per episode, volume.
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  - But the true return really goes beyond the
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  - financial performance.
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  - So therefore, our focus extends beyond performance of
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  - any single department.
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  - We look at the impact we're making on
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  - the individual patient, and then we look at
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  - the value we're creating across the health system
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  - as a whole, which is what we call
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  - one Sentara or the one Sentara approach to
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  - care.
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  - Some of the most meaningful returns never show
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  - up on the post acute financial statement. They're
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  - instead reflected in the total cost of care
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  - through an elimination of a readmission
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  - or avoiding an ET visit,
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  - or moving the patient to the appropriate level
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  - of care without having to stop... Make a
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  - stop in the hospital first.
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  - To me, that's the real value of technology
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  - in the post acute space. Because when we
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  - get it right for the patient, we're often
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  - getting it right for the health system as
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  - well.
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  - I love that. Now I'd love to kinda
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  - look into the future. If you can imagine
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  - five years from now, what do you hope
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  - will be different for patients and families because
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  - of this high-tech, high touch approach?
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  - Yeah. I think there's gonna be a lot,
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  - a lot that will change in all the
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  - best ways.
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  - Today, too many people experience health care as
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  - a series of, like, disconnected events.
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  - My hope is that in five years, care
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  - feels more connected and coordinated.
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  - I want transitions between settings to feel seamless
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  - and intentional.
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  - I want patients and families spending less time
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  - trying to navigate health care and more time
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  - focusing on what matters most to them. And
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  - I want our caregivers, both our professional caregivers,
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  - as well as our family caregivers to feel
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  - supported as well.
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  - I hope
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  - we're identifying needs earlier, having important conversations sooner
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  - and bringing resources proactively like I mentioned earlier
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  - in our conversation
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  - before the patient needs, you know, some kind
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  - of a crisis point. I also hope we're
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  - helping people remain safely and comfortable in their
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  - homes.
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  - Most importantly,
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  - I think I hope people,
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  - I hope they feel like they have a
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  - true partner in their care, not just a
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  - health system that they have to navigate.
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  - And honestly, if we're truly successful with technology,
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  - technology won't be what the patients remember. They'll
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  - remember that their care felt coordinated. They'll remember
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  - that there were clinicians were present with them
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  - and that they had... They and their families
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  - felt supported throughout their journey. And I think
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  - that is what I'm most excited about in
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  - regards to helping to create something in a
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  - post acute space.
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  - I absolutely love that vision, and it's been
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  - so cool to just hear you talk about
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  - everything going on in post acute and, you
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  - know, how we can really make this a
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  - high-tech, high touch environment. So thank you for
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  - being here, for sharing all of your thoughts.
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  - It's been such a pleasure having you.
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  - Thank you so much for having me. I
• 12:36
  - appreciate it greatly.