The future of care is at home [April Roundup]

It would be easy to think that most healthcare innovation happens in digital health startups. They get a lot of headlines!
However, hospitals and health systems continue to innovate in ways that are changing the future of healthcare—and there’s plenty of room for other types of businesses to help them do it.
In this issue, you’ll discover:

  • Why the future of healthcare is at home;

  • How to improve innovation efforts at the health system level; and 

  • How enterprise risk management supports (rather than hinders) innovation efforts.

You’ll also learn why we’ve curated a crack team of hospital and health system experts to guide clients (and their chosen vendors!) to fulfill their missions.

Make yourself a cup of your favorite beverage and settle in, because we’ve packed a lot into this issue for you. 

Now let’s get to it.

The future of care is at home

There. We said it. And we’re not the only ones. 

This is why hospitals and health systems are embracing the Public Health Emergency (PHE) waiver to implement Care at Home programs such as Hospital at Home (HAH)—and why nursing and physician staffing agencies, mobile phlebotomy labs, durable medical equipment companies, transport services, virtual care management technology companies, and other home care supporting entities are eager to support this work.

Click here to read more about Care at Home and why we’re staffing specifically to meet this need.

If you’re a hospital or health system executive, click here to discover 5 reasons Hospital at Home is worth considering. 

Not a hospital, but want to work with them to accomplish Care at Home initiatives? Click here.

And be sure to subscribe to the Decoding Healthcare Innovation podcast so you don’t miss our upcoming episode on Care at Home with NGL Hospital and Health Systems Innovation attorney and former NY Presbyterian telehealth pioneer Casey Papp.

3 Ways to Improve Innovation Efforts at the Health System Level

Do you need a foosball table in the lobby or free snacks to stimulate innovation in an organization? No. (But we wouldn’t say no to unlimited M&Ms.)
However, there are some requirements.
We asked Hospital and Health System Practice Lead Faisal Khan and Innovation Consultant and former Executive Director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations Pete ONeill to share a few tips to improve innovation success at the health system level. 

#1: The approach to innovation may vary, but one key thing all health systems need for strategic alignment is clarity around expectations and goals. This includes a clear IP policy that paves the way for a culture of innovation and collaboration at all levels.

#2: It is appropriate for hospitals to aim for a positive financial return off of innovation activities! If there is alignment in mission and in being good partners, this kind of investment can pay meaningful returns that are impactful to the organization.

#3: Adding outside counsel with real innovation expertise—day in, day out—really helps inside counsel and innovation teams appreciate the risk analyses and steps to mitigate those risks as they evaluate contracts and potential innovative technologies and solutions. Look for a healthcare innovation partner to enhance your team’s efforts, not replace them.

Discover how we support innovation teams with our unique blend of health system insider experience combined with on-the-ground innovation know-how. We bring the kind of nuance and perspective that helps your inside experts make better decisions. 

How Effective Risk Management Feeds Innovation

This round is for all the enterprise risk management folks in the crowd. If that’s you, then you already know what’s about to be a truth bomb for everyone else:

Too often innovation gets caught in the crossfire of the risk vs. return battle when it benefits from both perspectives. With clear boundaries, you have a wide field for innovation. 

And vetting from enterprise risk management experts means your project won’t die before it gets off the ground, you won’t be hesitant to bill for those innovations, and you’ll feel confident to seek the publicity you deserve for your efforts.

Our Hospital and Health System Practice Lead, Faisal Khan, also serves as the inaugural chair of the AHLA Enterprise Risk  Management (ERM) Affinity Group for the Hospitals and Health Systems' Practice Group.

One of his duties as chair is to serve as editor for the 4th edition of AHLA for the American Hospital Association's ASHRM co-published 600-page ERM handbook for healthcare entities (coming this summer). He is also a contributor to this new edition, along with NGL privacy and security experts Ashleigh Giovannini and Bethany Corbin.

In addition to their industry work in organizations like AHLA, Faisal and his core team at NGL have a combined 20 years of in-house experience in hospitals and health systems, along with years of day-in, day-out work with the healthcare innovation companies. If there is any group of people on the planet who understand the balance of risk vs. reward and how to structure innovation within the bounds of acceptable risk, it is this group.

And because of our unique collaborative structure, they have access to a range of Firm experts to support their work with hospitals and health systems (think: Remote Patient Monitoring, Remote Therapeutic Monitoring, Privacy and Security, Contracts, Virtual Care Management, Telemedicine, Telepharmacy, AI, Machine Learning, and more.)  

So next time you think risk management is all about NO, consider how risk management feeds the right YES for your organization—and how a partner like NGL can help you make that happen.

The Don’t Miss List

And that brings this issue to a close

As always, we’re thankful to earn a place in your crowded inbox every month. You’re busy, and we aim to deliver the most immediately useful information in each issue. 

Next month’s issue focuses on Privacy and Security from a healthcare innovation standpoint, which takes the topic to places you may have never even considered. Don’t miss it! 

Until next time,

Carrie Nixon, Rebecca Gwilt, and the entire team at Nixon Gwilt Law









Nixon Law Grouphealthcare innovation, digital health, care at home