February 2015

CONTACT EVENTS SOLUTIONS SERVICES

Procura Integrates with Simione Financial Monitor to Offer Benchmarking for High-Quality Home and Hospice Care

Simione Healthcare Consultants, the industry leaders of home health and hospice consulting, announce the integration of Simione Financial Monitor, an essential business intelligence and benchmarking tool, with Procura, a multinational software vendor dedicated to post-acute care that owns the popular Procura Health Management system and the web-based ContinuLink SaaS Home Care product lines.

"We are pleased to offer customers who operate the Procura and ContinuLink platforms this great product to improve decision-making and profitability in home health and hospice operations," said Scott Overhill, Procura's CEO. "As the post-acute care business continues to evolve, managing the financial efficiency of the agency is a core success factor. Adding the Simione Financial Monitor to our set of healthcare technology solutions will help customers better manage the complexities of their operations to ensure high-quality care."

Robert Simione, Managing Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants said, "Simione Financial Monitor provides Procura clients with an easy way to upload information and compare their performance to industry benchmarks. This process provides the perfect complement to cost report information, because it allows these users to obtain real-time financial dashboards quickly to monitor progress throughout the year."

A New Dawn in Home Care and Hospice: Will Your Agency Be Hot with Activity or Left Out in the Cold?

Mergers and acquisitions in healthcare will continue to accelerate, with many occurring at the health system level to achieve economies of scale and stronger bargaining power among payers. What is your agency doing as these larger entities forge ahead to meet the demands of accountable care?

David Berman, CPA, CVA, CGMA, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, said home care and hospice leaders should expect a continuing increase in mergers and acquisitions. For this reason, home care and hospice leaders need to initiate and fortify existing strategic partnerships to secure the role of their agencies among provider groups who are forming Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). "At the very least, home care and hospice organizations should be participating in network activities to coordinate care in their immediate market, where they can assume more financial risk for managing the health of a defined population," Berman says.

Do You Have a Key Leadership Vacancy?

Simione Healthcare Consultants' Interim Management services provides your organization with uninterrupted executive management and relieves remaining managers from the stress of covering a vacancy. You will be assured that your organization receives unparalleled interim leadership from a consultant who has a strong background in home health and/or hospice clinical and financial executive management. Interim management allows your organization to continue quality operations while also benefiting from the industry's leading consultation services.

While we are providing expert and experienced interim management, we can collaborate with leading industry search firms to support the successful recruitment of home care and hospice talent. Since we are dedicated solely to home care and hospice, we have the contacts and industry knowledge to help organizations find permanent job candidates.

To learn more about interim management and executive recruitment in home care and hospice, contact Marian C. Entin, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, at mentin@simione.com or call 800.949.0388.

Consider These Top Reasons for Using an Industry-Specific Search Firm

File That Cost Report Early..... It Does Have Its Advantages!

Did you know there is a grace period for early cost report filers? Providers who submit their cost reports prior to the due date and whose cost report has been rejected have the benefit of a grace period. The grace period is equal to the number of days between when the cost report was received by the MAC and the required due date. These valuable days can be utilized to make necessary corrections and resubmit the cost report before Medicare payments start being withheld. This grace period rule is not an annual benefit; it can only be used one time. Simione Healthcare Consultants recommends that home care and hospice agencies get in the habit of filing the cost report early in case any unforeseen circumstances arise. To learn more, contact Tom Boyd, Vice President of Reimburseable Services, tboyd@simione.com or Maureen Laskowski, Director, mlaskowski@simione.com or call 800.949.0388.

Learn and Grow with Complimentary Webinars

Click on the free webinar icon at right, and select date on calendar for registration link. All webinars are 2-3 PM Eastern time.

Feb 10 Preparing for Your Cost Report
Mar 10 How to Benchmark from Soup to Nuts
Apr 7 Painting the "Relatedness" Picture: Strategies for Hospice Clinical Operations
May 5 ICD-10 Reality Check: Taking Charge in the Final Months

THOUGHT LEADERS IN HOME CARE AND HOSPICE

Founded in 1966, Simione™ Healthcare Consultants provides comprehensive business solutions for home health and hospice in the areas of finance, operations, cost reporting, compliance and risk, sales and marketing, information technology, and mergers and acquisitions. Simione's experts and tools support performance improvement across the healthcare continuum, engaging hospitals, health networks and agencies to improve quality, reduce costs, and minimize risk for more effective delivery of patient care.

SIMIONE HEALTHCARE CONSULTANTS
844.215.8822
info@simione.com

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