CONFERENCE CAPSULE
Snapshots of recent healthcare events attended by Jarrard Inc.
EVENT: American Bar Association 24th Annual Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference
WHERE & WHEN: San Diego, CA, March 8-11
The ABA’s 24th Annual Healthcare Law Conference was teeming with sharp insider takes on pressing issues facing healthcare organizations. Our colleagues who attended offer these key themes:
- Where private equity goes, scrutiny follows. At risk of belaboring an already belabored point: The DOJ is continuing to keep a watchful eye on private equity investments and deals. As we transition out of the public health emergency, the focus has shifted to the business of healthcare. Expect concerned eyes – and questions – pointed at your organization’s wallet.
- Trends in the deal landscape are shifting. There’s ongoing buzz that deals in cardiology, dentistry and ERs will be heating up soon. Despite, of course, the slight decrease in private equity deals overall.
- Alternative methods for care delivery are growing in popularity. Some health systems and hospitals are looking at freestanding ERs and urgent care as alternatives and potentially more time and cost-effective means of offering on demand care to patients. The industry is also considering the Metaverse and virtual reality as alternatives to quell the growing demand.
- Workforce woes rage on. Staffing challenges are the reality for the foreseeable future. But that unfortunate staying power brings with it concerns around lack of competition—with the labor market in flux and the FTC’s non-compete clause ban stirring conversations around employee retention, the spotlight is shifting to M&A.
- Medicare and Medicaid waves are coming. We’ve seen these tides from miles away— changes in payment structure and government contracts will impact projections for finances—and many health systems are looking for safeguards, whether that’s through partnerships or evolution.
- Compliance is complicated. Tech in healthcare is lapping the snail pace evolution of policies meant to regulate it. It’s becoming more important than ever for provider organizations to ensure compliance with these digital tools while the law is still catching up.
The through line: Heads are turning to the way provider organizations conduct business, whether that’s regulatory scrutiny, corporate whistleblowers or media oversight. The reality is that most people get into healthcare for the right reasons, but with the industry’s constant change, emerging issues and persistent pain points, accountability is key. Eyes will be on your organization, if they aren’t already, and it’s imperative to rally around your mission.
