Overview

Each quarter, Trella Health releases the most recent Medicare claims data. Using the latest insights for your agency and your market, you can improve your account planning and engagement strategies by: 

• Refreshing your competitive analysis 
• Analyzing your referral source trends 
• Reviewing your presentations 

By making the latest metrics an integral part of your quarterly account planning and engagement strategies, you can connect with the right referral sources and match your agency’s strengths with their patient population needs. The result? Smarter growth. Let’s explore how you can get the most out of your new data. 

Refresh Your Competitive Analysis

An updated competitive analysis is crucial to differentiating your agency with prospects and continuing to foster relationships with existing referral sources. If you haven’t already created your analysis, you can find a step-by-step walk-through here. Then, when new data is released, you can easily refresh your competitive analysis in just a few steps.  

First, compare your own agency against your top competitors. From the Explore page, navigate to the Home Health or Hospice tab and toggle on the Favorites filter to display your agency and the competitors you have set as favorites. From here, look at what’s shifted, where your agency’s performance metrics may have improved or declined against competing agencies, and determine if you have any new opportunities. 

Next, go to your agency’s Analyze page and view the charts and tables on the Quality tab. These provide a big picture view of areas where your agency stands out, and where you may have improved or declined. Using this information, you can improve your presentations and develop a more compelling story for new and existing referral sources. Use this data to show your referring partners why they should choose your agency over the competition. 

Action items: 

1. From the Explore page, sort performance metrics to see how your agency performed in comparison with your competitors in the most recent quarter’s data. 

1. Review the Analyze pages for your agency and your competitors. On the Quality tab, look for shifts in metrics, such as Hospitalization and Readmission rates.  

1. Confirm existing competitive strengths and identify any changes in your agency’s differentiators. 

Analyze Your Referral Sources 

With a refreshed competitive analysis, look at your existing assigned accounts for fluctuations in referrals. Have your go-to referral sources continued to refer your agency? Using updated metrics, you can make strategic decisions about which referral sources need your attention most.  

Go to the Facility and Physician Analyze pages for your top accounts. Look at Destinations, and identify if your admissions increased or decreased for the referring Facility or Physician. By default, this page sorts by volume of referrals. The account’s top referral destination will be shown first on the list – making it easy to see if you’ve moved up or down on your top referral sources’ destinations lists.  

As you dig into the data for each of your top referring partners, look at the trended metrics for each agency. This will give you a view of your performance over time, so you can see if you’re improving or declining in comparison with your competitors.  

Once you’ve surveyed your own agency and your top referral sources, review the Market Share report to see trends for your top competitors. How did they perform in the most recent quarter? Did their market share increase or decrease? For more detailed instructions on getting the most out of the Market Share report, check out the Perform a Competitive Analysis article. Updated data may reveal some interesting opportunities with new referral sources, or with referral sources that have traditionally chosen a competitor over your agency. 

Action items: 

1. From the physician or facility Analyze page of your top accounts, go to the Destinations tab and check patient volumes. Determine if your agency’s referrals have increased or declined. 

1. Review trended admits to identify where you’re improving or declining compared to your competitors. 

1. Look for trends for your agency and your competitors on the Market Share report.  

Review Your Presentations 

Presentations automatically refresh when new data is released. So, while you can rest assured the metrics in your presentations are updated for you on a quarterly basis, it’s important to review any changes. 

Confirm the charts selected in your presentations are still communicating the details you most want to highlight. Whether you’re presenting to new accounts, making your case to accounts that haven’t traditionally referred to you, or strengthening your relationships with your top accounts, ensure the charts selected still frame your agency’s value correctly.  

Action items:

1. Review your existing presentation(s). Do they still highlight your agency’s value correctly? If not, make adjustments to strengthen your presentation and set your agency apart. 
2. Consider additional accounts that would benefit from a presentation and create one for them.