Topic Summary
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) is an organization that offers membership and professional development opportunities to businesses in the healthcare field and reviews complex issues affecting the industry to provide guidance and education. One critical topic involves COVID-19 and relevant measures to keep healthcare organizations updated on the outbreak’s status, new patient care and management guidelines, and leadership strategies to minimize health risks and extra costs (HFMA, n.d.). To support healthcare providers’ adequate knowledge regarding healthcare finance in the COVID-19 era, the association posts news articles and resources devoted to current barriers to cash preservation for hospitals (HFMA, n.d.). Other aspects of the topic include financial assistance due to the CARES Act, recommendations to improve COVID-19 patients’ billing experience, contingency planning, and relief funding programs’ terms of use (HFMA, 2020; HFMA, n.d.). Therefore, the association aims to maintain providers’ awareness of loss minimization opportunities.
Connections to the Course and Career Development
Regarding the links between the topic and the course, the selected topic can be applied to information from Week 4, costing and allocation. From Week 4 readings, I have learned that cost containment has become a priority area for healthcare executive leaders right before the COVID-19 outbreak. This led to increased use of overhead cost-cutting strategies, clinical process waste reduction, and artificial intelligence applications. The COVID-19 era increased the demand for overhead cost minimization strategies and skills related to their implementation even more, which is why the HFMA’s topic and Week 4 resources are interconnected. Since it offers guidance on financial planning during crises, the HFMA can support my professional growth and development. It can do so by means of supplementing my actual knowledge and providing new ideas regarding crisis management and leadership in the healthcare field. With this knowledge, I will be capable of identifying viable cost minimization opportunities in the workplace.
References
Healthcare Financial Management Association. (2020). CMS’s latest guidance for healthcare organizations on the new coronavirus. Web.
Healthcare Financial Management Association. (n.d.). COVID-19: HFMA news coverage of the new coronavirus and its effects on healthcare finance. Web.