Liz Powell, COO of the VNA of Western Pennsylvania presented a very effective program on how their agency has used telehealth in increase referrals, improve patient outcomes, and grow the bottom line. This was a delightful program for me because VNA of W. PA. in Butler, PA was my second home health care client when I started working with home health agencies back in 1982. (The first was the VNA of Venango County in Oil City, PA)
Liz Presented a Step-by-Step case study of how they did it:
- Set Goals
- Select the right system ( VNA uses HomMed)
- Implement a Home Health Model
- Work out the logistics
- Develop Marketing Strategies to Assure Success
- Allocate Funds for Marketing
- Define Target Markets
- Create Marketing Materials
- Select Target Markets
The results of their program:
- Referrals to the agency increased by 22%
- Home Health PPS visits per episode decreased from 19 t0 11
- Nurses were able to carry larger case loads
- Census increased with the same number of nursing staff
- ER visits decreased 61.7% for CHF patients
- Rehospitalizatin decreased by 65.9% for CHF patients
- The agency made an amazing financial turnaround
For more information on this program, visit their web site: http://www.vna.com