Leadership panel identifies future trends
Leadership panel identifies future trends
CARF pulls together 22 people
CARFThe Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission in Tucson, AZ, asked 22 people — representing the rehab industry, rehab consumers, and others — to identify the major trends that will affect the industry’s future.
The Medical Rehabilitation Leadership Panel met in June 2000 and came up with this list of the major rehab trends and their implications: consumerism; decreased payment for medical rehabilitation services; E-health; technology; a need for improved access to service; increased regulatory environment; strategic alliances, partnerships, and linkages; increased scrutiny on the value of accreditation; increased need for flexibility and innovation in rehabilitation; and globalization.
The panel identified these five top trends:
1. Consumerism.
- Aging baby boomers will press for increased attention to cultural diversity, increased need for information, and broadening of CARF’s image to include more than rehabilitation.
- Consumers want more specific information. Some examples include risk-adjusted outcomes, efficiency measures, comparative shopping measures, and ways to differentiate providers.
- CARF’s response to consumers’ demand for information may cause discomfort among providers, leading to a short-term risk for CARF as such providers weigh the pros and cons of CARF accreditation.
- CARF’s consultative style may be challenged, so CARF may need to take a more prescriptive and inspective role.
- CARF has the potential to play a role as an information broker.
2. Increased need for flexibility and innovation in rehabilitation.
- CARF needs to be able to adapt easily in this fluid environment.
- What is being analyzed: Multiple providers, networks, and programs may create duplicative accreditation among organizations.
- There will be tension between evidence-based rehab services and innovation, such as in the alternative medicine movement. CARF has a responsibility to respond to consumers’ requests for information in these areas.
- Organizations will continue to have an expanding and changing scope.
- There will be a renewed emphasis on knowing CARF’s customers.
- The boutique survey model has the potential to become the norm.
- If CARF became more flexible, it could increase revenue by focusing on education to consumers and payers.
3. Decreased payment for medical rehabilitation services.
- There is a greater need for providers to be able to document the value of rehabilitation in terms of cost and outcomes.
- The cost of accreditation is now prohibitive for some organizations.
- CARF needs to show financial and other tangible values of accreditation.
- CARF is challenged to maintain standards in a shrinking reimbursement environment.
- A change in funding offers opportunities for CARF.
- Long-term acute care hospitals have more rehabilitation occurring, and it is outside the prospective payment system.
- Determine the impact on the quality of outcomes: PPS or other funding streams for services to high need individuals may affect what services the organization can provide in the future.
- Providers want higher value and distinct accreditation recognition.
4. Increased scrutiny on the value of accreditation.
- The lag in numbers of organizations seeking accreditation will continue.
- The goals of providers and accrediting bodies will continue to conflict.
- There is a perceived lack of distinction among accreditation awards.
- Many organizations do not recognize the value of accreditation.
- There is a need to increase the value that accreditation has for health care consumers. The National Committee for Quality Assurance health plan report cards are problematic and not easy to develop, but useful. Further exploration is needed on how to identify benchmarks of quality.
- Consideration should be given to developing a method of providing services and information during the crisis period for the newly injured/disabled.
- There is a greater need to inform the public about CARF and the value of accreditation.
- The value of accreditation varies across the country: It has more value in a competitive environment and less value if there is only one major provider in the area.
- Consumers will continue to seek quality review and answers to their questions about health care, rehab, and accreditation.
- Payers want a way to control costs.
5. E-health.
- Develop E-health as a service for consumers, providers, and payers.
- E-health and CARF are a match. CARF communicates with the world, including stakeholders and potential clients.
- E-health is here to stay.
- Consideration should be given to the role of a "filter" for web information.
- Some consumers still do not have access to technology.
- Internet accreditation should be considered.
- There is a great need to enhance CARF’s current web site.
- CARF may need to shift its current operational structure to keep pace, such as through an E-unit.
- There exists a business opportunity for CARF and new virtual E-health sites. CARF could be the organization to distinguish quality.
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