LW Consulting, Inc. (LWCI) had the pleasure of attending the LeadingAge PA Fall Finance Conference a couple of weeks ago. The conference had many presentations on topics that ranged from using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Metrics to improve your organization’s financials to compliance and risk management. Many of the presentations appeared to have some common themes.
A few of the presentations covered the use of data and other information that organizations have readily available to assess their organizations. As mentioned above, one presentation by Concordia Lutheran Ministries discussed using KPIs and metrics to evaluate and improve an organization’s finances. What stuck out the most from this presentation is that many organizations may not be reviewing their expenses correctly. The presenter mentioned that one of the biggest issues he sees is that organizations are not correctly managing their staff hours compared to hours Per Patient Day (PPD).
Another presentation by RKL LLP, with a similar topic, discussed using public cost report data to analyze how an organization compares to its competitors. The presenters discussed using this data to complete a comparison of several areas including nursing hours PPD, expenses, and salaries.
Another big topic was compliance. The presentation topics covered various compliance areas including risk management, preventing fraud and completing a security risk analysis. All are important parts of a compliance program. These presentations discussed compliance from the finance perspective and preventing financial risks – as expected.
Risk management helps an organization review and manage their risks, allowing them to prioritize the solutions. A presentation by Affinity Health Services discussed risk management and placed emphasis on the importance of having the appropriate processes and procedures in place and ensuring they are being followed. This same presentation covered using KPIs and metrics in risk management to create and evaluate goals.
Fraud prevention is (or should be) on the forefront of all organization’s minds. No organization wants to deal with the repercussions of any kind of breach or fraud scheme, so it was no surprise that this was a topic discussed at the conference. A presentation by Paymerang discussed the importance of organizations educating not only their staff but also their residents on the various ways that scammers try to commit fraud. It should be common knowledge that as technology progresses, it is getting more difficult to identify fraud or phishing before an individual “clicks the link” and elderly continue to be a big target for these scammers.
Lastly, the final compliance topic presented by Reclamere discussed completing a security risk analysis. There was emphasis placed on the importance of conducting a security risk analysis to prevent a breach or fraud. The presenter noted that completing a checklist does not mean that your organization is compliant. The presenter also noted that if your organization had a cyber-attack, that your organization will likely have another.
Overall, our takeaway from this conference is that all organizations should be continuously working to evaluate and improve their organization whether improving operations, finances or their compliance program. It is important for an organization to have an understanding of their current operations and processes while also knowing what areas need improvement. Kudos to Leading Age PA for a thoughtful agenda and well-run conference.
LW Consulting, Inc. (LWCI) offers a comprehensive range of services that can assist your organization in maintaining compliance, identifying trends, providing education and training, or conducting documentation and coding audits. For more information, contact LWCI to connect with one of our experts!
