This article is sponsored by McKesson Medical-Surgical, Inc. In this Voices interview, Home Health Care News sits down with Mark Snodgrass, Vice President, Post-Acute at McKesson, to learn about the opportunities created by a shift to the care-at-home model. He explains how providers are adjusting to this movement from a clinical, operational and technological standpoint.
Home Health Care News: What career experiences do you most draw from in your current role?
Mark Snodgrass: I try to anchor around my time in the field with medical professionals, whether it be nurses, doctors or frontline staff. I think you have to think about what’s happening at the customer level, at the patient level, at the clinician level, and figure out what their day looks like and how it is evolving with technology.
Anytime we’re in discussions , we try to tie everything back to what’s happening in the field. I like to draw from my experience in nursing homes where I learned what to look for. What were the challenges? What was the day like? How did things change? What were the patient needs? Those experiences have helped me grow as the industry has evolved. I then apply those learnings to home care as well.
What are some of the best or most successful home health investments you’ve seen in the industry?
Snodgrass: Some of the investments in new models come to mind. Today, companies like DispatchHealth can deploy clinicians, when seniors would have traditionally considered going to an emergency room first. They have an ER doctor available via phone and more sophisticated equipment than ever before. They’re able to go to the patient’s home and provide care in that setting, which is significantly less expensive and less stressful on the system.
The patient also wants this more than they want to spend time in an emergency room or some other type of traditional care setting. These models are evolving right now, and I think the investment in these models has tremendous potential. It’s very exciting for us to see how this plays out.
We’ve seen a major shift toward the “X-at-home” model, whether that’s care-at-home, hospital-at-home, SNF-at-home and so on. For home-based care providers, what are the major implications of this trend?
Snodgrass: I think the first point is that these models are focused on the evolving consumer. When you see the consumer and the costs are different, they have better education around what’s going to happen. They want to have more input into the type of care, supplies, prescriptions and access they have. Providers have to think about existing demands as the consumer evolves, and it creates a lot of opportunity for providers to create an ecosystem with higher levels of patient engagement.
This is an incredible opportunity for providers to evolve in tandem with the consumer.
What new opportunities exist for these providers as a result of this movement?
Snodgrass: Again, there’s an opportunity to educate the consumer. These consumers, and ultimately the patient, are hungry for information. They’re hungry for opportunity, whether in a digital-first delivery model or access to supplies. It comes down to convenience, accessibility and engagement. Those are going to matter most in the care-at-home models moving forward.
If providers are able to increase convenience and make care more accessible, that engagement will be more frequent and more valuable. Those models will take off because that is what the consumer is asking for. We expect a lot of expansion in this area and positive movement in the industry.
It also creates a lot of opportunity at the clinician level. If you think about all of the technology that’s been deployed in this space during the pandemic, it’s going to have a significant impact on the patient experience.
Then the next time that that patient needs care, how do they re-engage with that model? When you start to think about patients in the home, it is going to be tremendously opportunistic for those providers to create a new system of engagement. It’s a limitless environment right now. I think it’ll be very interesting to see what types of unique and innovative ideas providers come up with, whether digital or face-to-face.
What are the most exciting ways you’ve seen home-based care providers adjust to the care-at-home movement?
Snodgrass: Health care can be overwhelming for the consumer at times. “Where do I go?” and “How do I access care?” are the key questions to answer. We’ve seen models of patient engagement that direct the patient on how to access care efficiently. They use remote monitoring devices that prompt the patient to take medicine, engage a medical professional and many other things.
This creates an opportunity to enhance the patient experience and improve their health care, which elevates what home health providers are able to accomplish.
Right now, I think we’re just scratching the surface on this. As all of the different tools come together, it will create a tremendous new experience for the patient and an even greater opportunity for the provider.
To take advantage of the care-at-home model, what medical supplies do home-based care providers need that they might not already have?
Snodgrass: It’s a couple of things. It isn’t just about the supplies they need — it is about the ease of access to those supplies when the patient needs them. They need access to a patient home delivery network that can quickly and directly provide those supplies to the patient. McKesson has created a distribution network for this.
In many situations, the supplies will change if there are innovative, new products out there. There will also be supplies in home-based care that used to only be available in a clinical setting .
Yes, providers must get the exact supplies they need, but it’s equally important that they can access the supplies quickly and easily. That’s going to be accomplished through large distribution networks.
What are the greatest technology needs for succeeding in that space?
Snodgrass: I think you’re going to need a consumer-friendly platform. The consumer should be able to access the care they want, how it is delivered, the affiliate networks and where they can get that information. Whatever your platform, it needs to be very consumer-friendly.
In many situations, technology needs are going to be a gateway for the patient to interact with the provider and start the care process. Another dynamic will be education. The ability to educate consumers on that platform is critical in identifying the right kind of care, the right way, at the right time.
The agencies also need to be plugged in with the health system for care-at-home. As the providers improve their ability to communicate across different care settings, the process of sharing relevant and secure information across platforms will be a key differentiator. They’re going to have the right patient information and history to provide the right care at that time.
Entering this year, no one knew fully what to expect in the home-based care industry. So, what has been the biggest surprise in the industry to you this year, and what impact do you believe that surprise will have in 2022?
Snodgrass: I am excited to see what happens with the Moving Health Home Alliance and home-based care. It’s not so much a surprise as something I am looking forward to in 2022. As home-based care evolves, the reimbursement models will have to follow consumer desire for care-at-home. It is something we’re very interested in.
There are a lot of different models out there. And there are a lot of different proposals in front of Congress around what these reimbursement models will look like and how they will incentivize providers, patients and broader networks regarding where care will be provided.
As that funnels its way through the legislative process, we’re going to follow it closely to understand where the incentives are, what the providers and patients will be able to do under the current economic models and where it will potentially evolve.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
McKesson Medical-Surgical is a medical distributor offering medical supplies, health care solutions, distribution services and clinical resources. To learn more about how McKesson can help your organization, visit mms.mckesson.com.
The Voices Series is a sponsored content program featuring leading executives discussing trends, topics and more shaping their industry in a question-and-answer format. For more information on Voices, please contact sales@agingmedia.com.
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