November 16, 2016
Each fall, CHIME, MGMA and AHIMA host their biggest events just weeks apart. This means the fall is a busy time for Aria Marketing, as many of our clients attend these events and need our support to get their news out in the market prior to and during the shows, meet with the press and other industry influencers, and make the most of their investments at the conferences. Now that we are all back in the office after our travels to Baltimore, San Francisco and Phoenix, we sat down and reflected on the three key trends and takeaways from these conferences.
1. MACRA
With HHS finalizing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act in October, MACRA was a hot topic at every industry event this fall. The MACRA Quality Payment Program is designed to increase the quality of care while reducing costs through value-based reimbursement. In response to the highly-anticipated ruling, MGMA was prompted to host an “Under the MACRAscope” series, which shared quality reporting strategies under MACRA’s various tracks. Our client SA Ignite attended CHIME’s Fall Forum to address hospital CIOs’ questions about the impact MACRA will have on their organizations. In an interview with Healthcare Informatics, Lee advised that having more efficient IT systems is crucial for providers to achieve success in this Quality Payment Program.
2. Value-based care
MGMA16 also focused on the forces driving practices to consider embracing new payment models and partnerships for care delivery. Halee Fischer-Wright, President and CEO of MGMA, led the keynote presentation which asked physicians to embrace positivity during this shift. In an interview at the conference with Physicians Practice, Fischer-Wright explains, “MACRA has made practices realize they can’t ignore the shift toward value-based care if they are going to be a viable practice of the future.”
3. Privacy and Cybersecurity
AHIMA began with Lucia Savage, Chief Privacy Officer at the ONC, providing an update about ONC’s top priorities, including the announcement of its new risk assessment tool and its recent push for providers to brush up on HIPAA basics. Our client, CynergisTek had a strong presence at the show. Mac McMillan, CISM, CEO at CynergisTek, led a presentation at AHIMA titled, “Cybersecurity: The Super 4.” He explained that healthcare organizations should be watching out for financial crimes, espionage, hacktivism, and advanced persistent threats in 2017. In a keynote at the CHIME16 Fall Forum, White House CIO Tony Scott also cautioned CIOs to be wary of the “internet of things” and encouraged tech leaders to continue to prioritize cybersecurity.
What did you think were the top takeaways and trends from the fall healthcare IT events that you attended? Tweet and share your thoughts with us at @AriaMarketing.
