Fact: Our society is experiencing the steepest technology learning curve in history. The proliferation of technology in all aspects of our lives is causing a rapid shift in the business environment that associations must address and embrace to survive. Combined with challenges that range from shifting demographics to a demand for new member and revenue models, associations are facing a new reality.
The digitalNOW 2017 conference explored not only these challenges, but also the opportunities digitization affords the association world. Dynamic Benchmarking Co-founder, Lisa Vivinetto and I had the opportunity to attend this progressive event and came away with a number of valuable takeaways that we wanted to share with you.
Betsy Delfosse
Recent Posts
How Technology is Changing our Approach to Business
Jun 9, 2017 3:30:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Benchmarking Software Technology
Defining Benchmarking Success
May 9, 2017 11:45:00 AM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Member Benefits
You’ve invested plenty into your benchmarking. It’s only natural that you want to see a return, some kind of indication that it was time and money well spent, but how do you measure success in benchmarking? How do you determine if you’ve achieved a reasonable return on your investment and more importantly, how do you ensure your success in the first place?
Three Ways to Drive Member Engagement using Benchmarking
Mar 5, 2017 3:30:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Benchmarking Process
Member engagement is the holy grail of association success. A highly engaged member base leads to greater member satisfaction which in turn leads to higher retention rates. Unfortunately, creating opportunities for positive and relevant member engagement is not always easy, even when it comes to clearly valuable member benefits like benchmarking. Convincing busy professionals to set aside time to collect and submit data has long been a challenge for associations. Even once that hurdle has been cleared, finding ways to share that data in a way that encourages members to engage with each other can still be difficult. Dynamic Benchmarking Chief Operating Officer, Betsy Delfosse, shares some tips for overcoming these challenges.
Exploring the Values and Traits of Successful Leaders & Organizations
Apr 15, 2016 2:15:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Company News
Last month, Lisa Vivinetto and I attended Great Ideas in Colorado Springs, CO. Created by our good friends at ASAE, the Great Ideas Conference brings together association executives and colleagues with sessions that open doors to new thinking and new ways of doing things. As I reflect back on my time there, there were some common themes in the sessions I attended that resonated with me.
What Makes Us Tick - The Technology behind Dynamic Benchmarking
Aug 5, 2014 4:00:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Company News, Benchmarking Software Technology
There are many options available for conducting your benchmarking study. From traditional paper surveys to sophisticated online platforms, there’s certainly no shortage of choices. When our clients are asked why they chose us, or what they like most about our service, the most common answers we hear relate to the level of consulting and service they receive.
Why Should a Medical Practice Association Benchmark?
May 7, 2014 12:30:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Maturity Models Benchmarking
The past several years have seen sweeping changes in the healthcare industry. From the introduction of the Affordable Care Act and the evolving health priorities of our population, the landscape of healthcare and healthcare management is required to change. Changes in healthcare as a result of Accountable Care Organizations and new value-based payment methodology also require that today’s medical practices take steps now to prepare. This holds true for the industry as a whole and in the microcosms of each medical specialty.
Benchmarking studies can help healthcare organizations and medical practices measure these changes and formulate sound business strategies now, before many of the impending changes become requirements. Benchmarking has long been used by many healthcare associations to provide information to medical professionals. Information on compensation and benefits, practice management, performance and productivity and other factors have been measured, analyzed and compared for years, providing critical data for use in improving both business performance and quality of care across the entire healthcare field.
QUALITY OF CARE: COSTS AND OUTCOMES
As a first step, practices need to have systems in place to understand the costs and outcomes of the care they provide. More specifically, they need to be able to measure and compare costs and outcomes by diagnosis, procedure, episode of care and revenue stream. Data points that should be collected in an effective study include patient encounters, Relative Value Units (RVUs), physician allocation of time and compensation so appropriate ratios can be calculated to measure productivity. It’s important to include quality of care measures as well, such as tracking avoidable emergency room visits and hospital readmissions and utilizing data from patient satisfaction surveys. A simple means of evaluating patient satisfaction is if they would refer their physician/practice to someone they know. This is a relatively easy measure to quantify and provides valuable insight into the quality of patient experiences.
Financial studies for specialties can shed light on what the typical revenue and practice payer mix is for like practices, providing data to guide practice business strategy. Benchmarking studies can also provide valuable feedback and performance measurements to Accountable Care Organization members to gauge the quality of care provided as well as the financial benefits achieved through participation.
PRODUCTIVITY
It’s one thing to understand productivity within a practice, but much more important to compare this productivity against other practices. When it comes to improving medical operations as a whole, data gleaned from others working in the same medical specialty offers a perspective on data that more generalized studies cannot always provide. Measuring and comparing RVUs and patient encounters at the specialty level can offer insight not only into staff productivity, but also open the door to potential cost savings and operational efficiencies that are unique to that specialty’s niche. Comparisons should be relevant and take into consideration geographic area, specialty and subspecialty, size of the practice, etc. These measures and productivity comparisons will become the norm for many, if not all, medical practices.
FOR THE GREATER GOOD
As healthcare professionals, there is a shared sense of responsibility for providing the highest quality of care and this means continuously seeking out better medical outcomes and delivery of care while improving the efficiencies of our practices and the quality of each patient experience. Benchmarking is a great means of collaborating with others in your industry on a large scale to produce the data that can help realize these goals not only for individual practices, but for the medical community as a whole. By sharing and comparing key data points, practices can learn from each other and work toward improving patient care and organizational performance through the development of field-specific, evidence-based best practices.
Specialty-specific benchmarking studies can be of great value to your members by providing valuable comparisons of metrics unique to your niche. These studies are able to deliver truly meaningful peer-to-peer comparisons that can be used to increase productivity, improve medical outcomes, and ensure fair compensation of your staff while helping to develop relevant best practices for your industry. We invite you to read about the benchmarking experiences of some select medical specialty organizations and see the many ways benchmarking is being used to improve performance, productivity and more in each of their highly specialized fields.
A Holiday Message from The Team at Dynamic Benchmarking
Dec 18, 2013 12:15:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Company News
During this holiday season our thoughts naturally turn to family, as this is the time of year that families come together to celebrate and reflect. We come together and give thanks for all that we have and, as the year comes to a close, make plans for what we will accomplish in the new year ahead.
Taking the Path of Least Resistance - Engaging the Introvert
Nov 6, 2013 2:45:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Member Benefits, Benchmarking Analysis
Engagement. Interaction. Relationship Building. These are the buzz words that dominate sales and marketing conversations around the globe. Today, more than ever, the success of your organization hinges on the depth and breadth of your relationship with each and every member. So what do you do when you have members who aren’t engaging with you? How do you interact with those you can’t seem to reach? How do you break down the walls, get a conversation going and build that relationship?
Top 8 Ways to Use Technology for Member Engagement
Feb 11, 2013 7:30:00 AM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Member Benefits
With so many relationships to maintain in your professional life, from friends and colleagues to the networking groups and professional associations that are the core of your business, it is vital to choose online engagement tools wisely AND commit to using them regularly.
Making the Switch from Surveys to Benchmarking: Adding Value while Streamlining the Process
Sep 24, 2012 12:00:00 PM / by Betsy Delfosse posted in Benchmarking Process, Benchmarking Analysis
Many associations have been collecting information from their members for years …compiling, analyzing, and reporting trend data back to them as a much-valued service. If your association does this, you likely started by mailing surveys to your members and probably moved to an online survey tool like Survey Monkey or a combination of both paper and online data collection to collect data, hoping to simplify the process.