By: Ellen VanBuskirk
How does an industry reach all the critical "actors" along the healthcare ecosystem
that starts with the consumer? We know that communication will be the lynch
pin for ICD-10 transition success in October, 2015, as the IS integration, testing,
training, business process redesign , and change management are all interdependent
and without a two way line of communication, the transition will struggle to
achieve a successful outcome. Can we use a "grass roots" approach to train,
knowledge share, and manage?
One of the challenges early in the roadmap of ICD-10 transition was the ability
to manage and substantiate both tacit and explicit knowledge. We continue to
struggle with keeping FAQ's current and addressing myths with large payers and
large hospital systems creating their communities of knowledge with some degree
of sharing. Is there a need for communities of practice to create some standards?
We see CMS and other Industry organizations providing more webinars, town hall
meetings, listening sessions, etc., but is that getting to the people working
in the "trenches" of healthcare in the area of the ecosystem that will be affected?
What strategy can be applied to ICD-10 that has been successful to reach the
majority?
Also needed is someone to ask the question if there is a plan to educate the
consumer on what ICD-10 will mean to them as they access healthcare, the changes
they will see, and importantly it needs to be transparent.
So how can we do this and achieve success? We have seen several considerable
success stories of social media campaigns that we might want to review. One
is the Presidential campaigns. There were "E-neighborhoods" created where there
was a push of information down to individual voters with the potential for a
two way level of communication. It allowed for a paradigm shift in political
campaigns!
The success of the Social Media Political campaign was stated as the
following formula:
Expertise + Planning + Power + Message + Integration + Tools = Success
So how can we use this to communicate the important impact messages of the
single most dramatic change to the Healthcare Industry in the US to our "E-neighborhoods"
and/or affinity groups?
First step is to secure the social media expertise that can drive the planning
and execution of the campaign.
Secondly, define the "E-neighborhood" and within that neighborhood, establish
the affinity groups, i.e. physician practices, home health services, consumers,
payers, clearinghouses, PBM or pharmacies, long term care, behavioral healthcare
services, etc.
Simultaneously, a fact gathering program should be kicked off to collect email
addresses of all "actors" starting at the consumer level across the ecosystem
to establish the foundation for the ICD-10 social media campaign for each particular
"E-neighborhood" and affinity group! It will be important to "grow the list";
to reach across the "E-neighborhoods" into the affinity groups and to collect
email addresses as fast as possible so using creative ways to do that will be
important. An approach used by some is to work with volunteer groups within
the "E-neighborhood" to set up call centers to gather the email information.
It is critically important not to think of this Social Media campaign as an
IT project but rather as a special project to connect with people. While the
technology is important, lumping this project with other IT projects in flight
or traditional communication plans may hinder success. One of the most important
team members of an ICD-10 social media campaign is the writer, who needs to
demonstrate a high degree of skill writing colloquial, yet powerful emails that
have taglines that will capture the attention of the target market.
The importance of the content of the email cannot be overstated, starting
with the tagline, and continuing with the value of the message and what it means
to the affinity group. It can be a tool to gain a stronger relationship with
the members of the "E-neighborhood"/affinity group. A social media program can
become a very meaningful tool in gaining mindshare of the providers who are
risk adverse or resource depleted, building a more trusted relationship, and
addressing targeted business drivers/ challenges.
The capability to analyze data from an ICD-10 social media campaign will be
a valuable "by product," creating a blog or allowing for two-way communication
as part of the strategy and execution should be considered.
The content that you might want to consider when building an I-10 Social Media
Program is:
- What is ICD-10?
- What does ICD-10 mean to the Patients?
- What changes will take place when seeing my Doctor?
- What changes will take place when I use the Hospital Services?
- What it costs me as the patient. More money?
- Will the insurance company still pay my claims like they did before ICD-10?
- Will my bill still look the same?
- Do we, the providers, still submit our bills using the same format?
- Will my reimbursement be the same?
- What will ICD-10 mean to our registration process at the doctor's office?
ICD-10 training and coding information can be an important component of an
ICD-10 social media program and be ongoing as new codes are released after the
code freeze is lifted.
Building the plan around affinity groups facilitates customized content, with
a focus as well on data that can assist in identifying potential process impacts
and data challenges prior to the October 2015 implementation.
We, as an industry, need to embrace industry-changing technology and solutions
to move us further down the ICD-10 transition roadmap to execution.
Ellen VanBuskirk is a healthcare consultant focused on compliance strategies
with a mission to work across the Healthcare value stream to meet regulatory
challenges. VanBuskirk has conducted business development efforts in support
of Healthcare Compliance & Reform, as well as ICD-10 Transformation by both
provider & payer organizations. With more than 20 years of success in leading
business teams and identifying emerging opportunities and challenges in the
healthcare industry, VanBuskirk excels at consultative evaluations that clarify
client needs and align business issues with integrated software and service
solutions. She brings deep expertise in health plan regulatory and compliance
initiatives, including healthcare reform, ICD-10 transformation, meaningful
use, HITECH, and HIE. Ellen started her career in Healthcare as a Clinician,
with a specialty in Emergency Medicine.