Long is leading @ the speed of light

Each year, the incoming Chairman of HFMAs Board of Directors selects an organizational theme for the coming year. This theme provides an annual focus for HFMA's long-range direction and strengthens the Association's core mission. Newly installed Chairman Ronald Long's theme is Leading @ the Speed

"Today's healthcare industry is changing faster than ever," says Long. "New technologies are being introduce almost daily. Financing mechanisms are changing almost as rapidly."

The healthcare financial leader is being challenged to understand these rapidly occurring trends and solve the problems they present in a creative and timely fashion, he contends. To cope with these challenges, the healthcare financial leader must become more knowledgeable about these topics and develop new skills to address them.

"The risk of poor investments or not making investments, particularly in the area of technology, has increased dramatically," Long continues. "The successful financial leader must be able to accept risk and understand how to manage, rather than avoid, it. A key component to successfully accepting such risk is flexibility. Leading @ the Speed of Light means making mistakes, but being able to recover from those mistakes and change direction as quickly as the environment changes.

"It's an exciting time in our industry because many of these technologies are creating opportunities for leaders to make the delivery of health care better," says Long. For example, there is the use of the Internet for online eligibility/claims processing. "The sheer size and complexity of the system that we have for billing, paying claims, and checking eligibility is a natural for information-technology solutions," he says, "And the Internet is the only place that several organizations, including the providers and insurers, can be linked together in an economic fashion."

Another technology-driven concept is that of the electronic medical record. Although there are still many security issues that must be resolved, the electronic medical record will come into widespread use and be of great value to both providers and consumers.

The Internet currently is being used to provide consumer information about health care, but Long predicts it will move toward providing more specific information about the quality and cost ratings of health plans and providers, Healthcare organization leaders need to be aware that this information is, or soon will be, at the consumers' disposal via the Internet and become proactive about ensuring that their organizations are properly represented in this arena. They must also evaluate e-business applications to determine how to best implement them within their organization.

"HFMA is in a unique position to provide leaders with the education and skill development necessary to prosper in this new environment," says Long. Providing members with educational opportunities in a more efficient and effective manner is one of Long's top priorities as Chairman. "HFMA is aggressively adopting technologies to deliver education in a timely and efficient manner, while lowering the overall cost to its members in both time and dollars. In addition, the content of education will be timely and targeted to new developments in order to give our members the edge they need to succeed."