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HIT It: Looking Ahead to the 2023 State Healthcare IT Connect Summit

 

Gainwell Technologies at State HIT Connect Summit 2023

Charm City on the Chesapeake Bay is the destination for the 13th Annual State Healthcare IT Connect Summit — bringing together a diverse breadth of health and human services stakeholders at a critical moment for the healthcare sector.

Three years into COVID-19, we now face the unprecedented challenge of unwinding the many policies enacted to enable the nation’s pandemic response and protect our vulnerable communities. This administrative load comes amid an ongoing labor shortage hitting state Medicaid workforces particularly hard. Modernization initiatives at the federal and program levels promise to streamline the complex for more efficient, outcomes-driven care. Embarking on the journey, however, does not come without its own set of risks.

If the past three years have taught us anything, it’s what’s possible when people, systems and technology unite with urgency to overcome challenge. We can’t think of a more opportune time to come together, share knowledge and ideate solutions to today’s key issues than during this diverse forum. Here are some of the hot topics we’re looking forward to diving into as we hit the ground running in Baltimore, March 6-8.

Modernization — What’s Driving It, and How to Get There

From all-in to incremental and technological to philosophical, there are many different ways to modernize health and human services delivery. One of the ways we expect to hear most about — and discuss at length at ourselves — is modernizing legacy Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) to modular Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES). While federal initiatives like CMS’ Modularity Final Rule may be helping to drive the shift to modularity, viewing the opportunity as more than a compliance measure will enable states to realize the far-reaching benefits of agility, configurability, interoperability, costs savings and more.  

Far from a one-size-fits-all process, modularization requires a well-timed, strategic approach driven by business and operational needs. At the Summit, systems integration and MMIS modernization experts from Gainwell Technologies and New Jersey’s Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services will share practical, experience-based strategies for ensuring a smooth and successful MES implementation. More information on the session can be found here.  

Can’t make the session? Consider scheduling a Systems Integration and Modularity Roadmap demo with Gainwell here.

It’s Time to Unwind

The Summit will kick off two months ahead of COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) end date of May 11 and just weeks before the Medicaid continuous enrollment requirement expires March 31.

While the expiration dates bring clarity to two long unknowns, they present a very real set of challenges as states must resume pre-pandemic operations, including, notably, eligibility and enrollment processes. With Medicaid enrollment at a record high and estimates that as many as 15 million people could lose health coverage during the 12-month unwinding period, it’s time to talk real solutions to the no-longer-hypothetical challenges states are facing — and how we can apply those solutions to streamline eligibility, enrollment and other critical Medicaid functions over the long term.

Putting Data to Use: Population Health and Program Optimization

Interoperability, data analytics and population health are, deservingly, a conference track in themselves — three vital components of a person-centered healthcare system.

There is no shortage of healthcare data; getting this data out of silos and putting it to use for programs and populations is where both the challenge and opportunity lie. Innovation in interoperability and big data analytics is the key to unlocking our most vital resource and extracting value from the data we use every day to address major healthcare challenges.   

Gainwell’s Human Services and Public Heath, Analytics and Interoperability teams will be on-site, available to discuss data-fueled strategies for advancing whole person care, health equity and program performance. And don’t miss our speaking session, Turning Out of Sight Into Oversight: A Managed Care Program Integrity Oversight Framework, which will include discussion on harnessing the power of analytics for managed care oversight.

Drawing Inspiration from Lessons Learned

We’re at a unique moment in health and human services, as pandemic-era protocols end, modernization initiatives gain ground and we work to overcome longstanding health inequities underscored by COVID-19. We’ve seen what’s possible when need accelerates innovation and inspires creative solutions to new and long-term challenges; with the COVID-19 PHE soon to be behind us, let’s apply that same energy toward advancing our collective goals of more efficient, equitable and outcomes-driven healthcare.

Will You Join Us?

Visit us at State Healthcare IT Connect booths 42 and 43. Attend one of our speaking sessions or schedule a demo to discover how Gainwell is elevating health and human services and taking clients with us on the journey. Learn more about what we have planned for the week at gainwelltechnologies.com/state-hit-connect-summit-2023.