Meet the Team: Greg Flicek

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Greg Flicek, wearing a white golf hat, smiles with his infant son in a blue bucket hat

Meet the Team is our blog series introducing some of the amazing professionals at Ascendient – who they are and what makes them tick. This month, meet Greg Flicek, a senior manager who joined the team in May 2021. Public accounting, national consulting groups, higher education, in-house hospital management – you’ve practiced in a variety… Read More

Hospital Community Benefit Rules: Changes Ahead

3 volunteers offering food & medicine illustrate the idea of hospital community benefit guidelines

Big changes are likely on the way for nonprofit health systems accustomed to “checking the boxes” in their community benefit reporting. Last month, two Democrat and two Republican senators wrote to the IRS questioning $28 billion in tax exemptions for nonprofit providers that “avoid providing essential care in the community for those who need it… Read More

Meet the Team: Katie Reilley

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Katie Reilley, Ascendient senior managing consultant, with her husband and two young sons

Meet the Team is our blog series introducing some of the amazing professionals at Ascendient – who they are and what makes them tick. This month, meet Katie Reilley, a senior managing consultant who joined the team in May 2021. You studied neuroscience as an undergrad before going back to Johns Hopkins for a Master… Read More

A Supportive Solution for Public Health Burnout

A carved wooden hand holds up a leaning tree, illustrating the need to support public health professional staff. Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash.

If you work in public health, you’ve surely experienced the burnout trend firsthand. Experts say state and local health departments have lost 15% of essential staff over the past decade, and 80,000 full-time workers are needed immediately just to provide “a minimum package of public health services.” From analysts to epidemiologists, public health professionals have… Read More

Deus Ex Machina: AI for CON Applications?

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A robot reading a magazine is a whimsical depiction of the role of AI in CON applications. Photo by Andrea Desantis via Unsplash.

Similar to other use cases, AI tools represent a supplemental resource when performing CON tasks, but are (for now) no substitute for personal experience and human intelligence Stories about generative AI technology have proliferated in newsfeeds and publications since the November 2022 release of ChatGPT, the latest chatbot from San Francisco-based technology company OpenAI. Users… Read More

Are Airports More “Essential” Than Hospitals?

A look down the runway at a small airport illustrates the idea that the federal government subsidizes airline monopolies while insisting on competition in healthcare

It’s bad for consumers when they have only one choice in service providers, right? That’s certainly the conventional wisdom in healthcare. When two hospitals announce some type of combination, economists and regulators (and sometimes trial lawyers) automatically start warning about market power, higher prices, and lower quality. Competition in healthcare is the highest value, it… Read More

ChatGPT for Hospitals: 3 Burning Questions

A 3D construction by Volodymyr Hryshchenko -- green and yellow papers forming a conversation bubble -- illustrate the idea of ChatGPT.

You can scarcely read the news these days without seeing an item about ChatGPT. The loquacious artificial intelligence application might be the buzziest healthcare story we’ve seen in 20 years or more. AI used to seem like a five- or ten-year trend for most hospitals. Suddenly, it’s about five minutes away. If you’ve been wondering… Read More

Can an Insurance Company Transform Healthcare?

A blue butterfly and green cocoons illustrate the concept of transforming healthcare. Photo by Håkon Grimstad via Unsplash.

If we want to transform healthcare, nearly everyone agrees that more primary care – especially preventive care – is the key. When patients see their PCP more often, minor health issues get caught earlier, allowing for cost-effective treatments that slow or prevent escalation to major health issues. Medicare understands that. As the primary insurer for… Read More

Happy Holidays from Ascendient

2022 holiday dinner for the Ascendient team

For a purpose-driven firm full of purpose-driven individuals, the holidays are extra special – a chance to reflect on our work and give back in ways that go beyond our everyday mission. Recently, our team from across four states gathered in Chapel Hill, NC, for a day of service and celebration. Working with two wonderful… Read More

Healthcare Strategy: 4 Lessons from Amazon Care

A mobile phone displays the Amazon logo on its home screen

You’ve heard the old adage to “fail fast, fail often, fail forward”? That seems to be the business philosophy at Amazon, which recently announced it would shutter the upstart Amazon Health division that had caused widespread consternation in traditional healthcare circles. (As healthcare strategy consultants, we shared some of that consternation, as you can see… Read More

What the 2023 IPPS Tells Us About CMS Priorities

A red "priority" stamp illustrates CMS priorities found in the 2023 IPPS

Last week, CMS released its final rule for the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), and a larger-than-expected boost in operating payments got much of the attention from healthcare journalists and membership associations like the AHA. But beyond the immediate (and somewhat deceiving*) headline that reimbursement will increase by $2.6 billion, we at Ascendient were… Read More

3 Ways to “Upcycle” Those Unused Inpatient Hospital Rooms

A lone orange chair in an empty room illustrates the issue faced by rural hospitals with too many unused inpatient rooms

We’ve long argued that healthcare transformation is fundamentally changing the calculus on inpatient hospital rooms – flipping them from a financial asset to a financial liability. That’s especially true in rural areas, where a sparse population plus added staffing challenges makes it hard to cover the fixed costs of inpatient care. When Medicare officially begins… Read More

Debating the Role of Pharmacy in Healthcare Transformation

A nighttime view into a dimly lit pharmacy

In March, President Joe Biden announced a new test-to-treat initiative that allows some pharmacies to prescribe life-saving Covid antivirals for patients who walk in and test positive – a policy that begins to recognize the role of pharmacy in healthcare transformation. No more shuttling between a doctor’s office and pharmacy? That seems like a commonsense… Read More

Corporations Are Betting Big on Value-Based Care

Walgreens is investing billions of dollars to expand VillageMD value-based care

Value-based care is a linchpin of healthcare transformation because there is simply no way to bend the cost curve without curtailing fee-for-service payment arrangements. While some traditional providers continue to struggle with the transition to value-based payments, national organizations like VillageMD clearly believe they have “cracked the code” for offering profitable primary care. VillageMD cares… Read More

Physician Assistants: the Future of Team-Based Care?

A physician assistant takes the blood pressure of a patient

What’s in a name? There’s a battle brewing over the familiar P.A. designation found in many primary care teams, and it’s just one more sign of the status quo resisting true healthcare transformation. As reported recently by Kaiser Health News, physician assistants would like to re-brand as “physician associates,” but doctors are fighting back, arguing… Read More

Ascendient Welcomes Joann Anderson

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Joann Anderson, practice lead for rural healthcare operations

Ascendient is pleased to announce that Joann Anderson has joined the firm to launch a new practice area focused on strengthening healthcare operations in rural settings. With a national reputation honed over 40+ years, Joann brings unmatched experience in rural healthcare leadership, including long service as both CEO (UNC Health Southeastern) and board member (Appalachian… Read More

Hospital Planning: 5 Financial Lessons from Covid-19

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Hospital planning is depicted with a photo of various financial graphs and tables

COVID-19 continues to have a dramatic impact on the financial performance of healthcare systems across the United States. Ascendient analyzed multiple data sources from the first year of the pandemic and found five key financial takeaways for hospital planning. In 2020, healthcare systems experienced: Decelerated net patient revenue growth Increased salaries and benefits Weakened profitability… Read More

The Senate Rural Health Caucus Needs NC Voices

A photo of clouds swirling over the US Capitol dome is meant to illustrate that Thom Tillis and Richard Burr need to join the Senate Rural Health Caucus

Our founder, Dawn Carter, wrote the following opinion piece with Joann Anderson, the outgoing CEO of UNC Health Southeastern in Lumberton, NC. A shortened version was published by the Raleigh News & Observer on Nov. 14, 2021. Rural healthcare is facing a crisis all across America, and North Carolina is no exception. From Belhaven to… Read More

Re-Thinking Retail

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My Roomba just arrived, and I am beyond thrilled! Fed up with my inability to keep up with my golden retriever’s shedding, on a whim I did about 10 minutes of research on robotic vacuums and then added one to my Amazon cart. Less than 24 hours later, this game-changer arrived at my door. A… Read More

Ascendient Healthcare Advisors Adds Three Senior-Level Positions

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Founder says largest ever one-time expansion will add capacity as healthcare leaders push forward with transformation in the wake of Covid-19. Chapel Hill, NC – Ascendient Healthcare Advisors, a top-50 consulting firm for healthcare strategy, planning, and feasibility, today announced the addition of three managing consultants with nearly four decades of combined experience. “In more… Read More

Mobile Integrated Healthcare: A Valuable Tool for Healthcare Transformation

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Mobile Integrated Healthcare is a broad and somewhat confusing term as it often operates differently from place to place in order to meet a community’s unique needs.  In 2016, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (“NAEMT”) and other partnering organizations updated their vision statement that defines and clarifies MIH: “Mobile Integrated Healthcare – Community… Read More

The Maryland Model (Part 3): Lessons Learned from Maryland’s Payment Models

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Maryland is the only state in the country that has a waiver from the Medicare Prospective Payment System (“PPS”) and related regulations. The waiver allows the State to manage its healthcare costs through the evolution and implementation of progressive healthcare payment models.  In January 2019, the Total Cost of Care model (“TCOC”) replaced the All-Payer… Read More

The Maryland Model (Part 2): Understanding How Maryland’s Payment Models Work

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Maryland is the only state in the country that has a waiver from the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) and related regulations. The waiver allows the State to manage its healthcare costs through the evolution and implementation of the State’s unique payment model.  In the second of the three-part series, we examine how Maryland’s unique… Read More

Healthcare’s New Normal: Understanding the Importance and Impact of Virtual Care in a Post-COVID-19 World (Part 2)

Long considered a key component of a future healthcare delivery system, virtual care adoption has accelerated across the country as healthcare systems find new, safer ways to continue providing services to their patients during the COVID-19 outbreak. Before the pandemic, the move to virtual care saw great success in some markets yet floundered in others…. Read More

Healthcare’s New Normal: Understanding the Importance and Impact of Virtual Care in a Post-COVID-19 World (Part 1)

Long considered a key component of a future healthcare delivery system, virtual care adoption has accelerated across the country as healthcare systems find new, safer ways to continue providing services to their patients during the COVID-19 outbreak. Before the pandemic, the move to virtual care saw great success in some markets yet floundered in others…. Read More

Six Tips for Rapid Strategic Planning in Uncertain Times

With the world having fundamentally changed over the last 90 days, many healthcare organizations may need an overhaul of their current strategy—but who has time for strategic planning in the midst of a pandemic?  All too often traditional strategic planning involves belabored processes over an extended period of time that ultimately leads to little, if… Read More

FREE COVID-19 Bed Capacity Assessment

Ascendient is pleased to offer to any hospital or health system in the US a free, customized COVID-19 Bed Capacity Assessment. News outlets are sounding the alarm regarding the lack of available hospital beds to accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic as it rolls across the US. Releases by both Health Affairs and the Harvard Global Health… Read More

25th Anniversary

“The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.[1]” When Ascendient was launched in the summer of 1994, Congress was debating the Clintons’ “Managed Competition” plan to reform the US healthcare system.  It faced defeat a few months later.  In the decades since, we applauded the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010,… Read More

Rethinking Recruitment [VIDEO]

TRANSCRIPTION: This is Brian Ackerman. Today I want to talk to you a little bit about rethinking primary care recruitment. If you’re in the recruiting business, you know how difficult it is to attract and retain primary care physicians in particular. What I want to do today is really outline why you might want to… Read More

Devastation of Site Neutral Payment [VIDEO]

TRANSCRIPTION: This is Brian Ackerman. I want to talk to you today about the devastation of site-neutral payment. Site-neutral payment is nothing new. We’ve worked with hospital clients for a number of years to discuss how from a competitive standpoint, they may look to push certain services into a freestanding setting and the associated implications… Read More

Community Health Assessments [VIDEO]

TRANSCRIPTION: I’m Daniel Carter. I wanted to take a few minutes today to share some ideas with those of you who may be working on your community health needs assessments. Now, these are ideas that I have developed over a number of years working with all types of organizations including public health departments, FQHCs, and… Read More

Holiday Video

  Dear Clients and Friends, Please enjoy this short video of our thoughts for the season.  Thank you for your continued friendship, support, and partnership.       Ascendient will be closed December 24, 2018 through January 1, 2019.  Dawn Carter will be the partner on-call during that time for any urgent issues. Our home office… Read More

Healthcare Providers Facing Strong Financial Challenges

Dawn Carter, Ascendient After decades of unabated growth in healthcare costs, payors, consumers and the government alike are finally taking action to eliminate cost-shifting and to force providers to assume more risk. From MACRA and the lower reimbursement rates of Medicare Advantage to the growing use of freestanding sites, hospitals are facing a transformational shift… Read More

Microhospitals: Evolving Regulations [VIDEO]

  In this short video, Daniel Carter will discuss the evolution of microhospitals as he highlights two examples. Video Transcription: I’m Daniel Carter. I want to talk a little bit today about the evolution of microhospitals as it pertains to regulations.  To do that I want to talk about a couple of specific states. First… Read More

Six Critical Disciplines To Integrate For a Transformed Healthcare Delivery Model

Changing market forces across the healthcare industry will have major reverberations across key provider, consumer, and other stakeholder communities that operate both within and outside of traditional healthcare system networks. And as a new and dramatically different type of healthcare delivery model emerges, healthcare executives can no longer afford to embrace a “business as usual”… Read More

Will Amazon Healthcare Work? [VIDEO]

In this short video, Dawn Carter will discuss three business giants coming together and how that will directly impact the future of healthcare. Video Transcription: I’m Dawn Carter. There was an exciting announcement recently about three business giants coming together to focus on the healthcare delivery and cost reduction for their employee populations. There has… Read More

Do Microhospitals Fit in HealthyTown? [VIDEO]

  In this short video, Daniel Cater will discuss how microhospital can fit into your strategy using our Healthytown™ model. Video Transcription: I’m Daniel Carter, and I want to talk a bit today about how Microhospitals fit in a Healthytown strategy.  For those of you who have followed our Healthytown strategy discussion over the years,… Read More

Principles of Transformed Care Delivery [VIDEO]

In this short video, Dawn Carter will discuss four principles behind transformed care delivery. Video Transcription: I’m Dawn Carter. I want to spend a few minutes talking about principles of transformed care delivery. If we have a transformed payment system that incentivizes the most effective care in the least costly setting, how will that transform… Read More

Understanding Microhospitals [VIDEO]

In this short video, Daniel Carter will discuss the characteristics of a microhospital. Video Transcription: I’m Daniel Carter and I wanted to talk a bit today about microhospitals. In healthcare strategy, we often hear terms that cause a lot of excitement, and sometimes, that excitement is for good reason and sometimes, it ends up being… Read More

Principles of Transformed Payment [VIDEO]

In this video, Dawn Carter discusses the principles of transformed payment and presents four inherent principles in that system. Video Transcription: I’m Dawn Carter. I want to spend a few minutes today talking about the principles of transformed payment. The healthcare industry in the United States has a long history of care delivery being heavily… Read More

Medicare Wall [VIDEO]

  In this short video, Dawn Carter will briefly discuss the future of medicare and what the future holds without a transformed payment system. Video Transcription:  I’m Dawn Carter. I want to talk today about the Medicare wall that we are running toward. We’ve talked in other blogs about how we believe that the financing… Read More