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Through a transition from volume-based to value-based, patient-centered care, hospitals are focusing on the drivers and domains of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including patient-centered care, patient satisfaction and the ability to improve quality and reduce the cost of care in the healing environment.
Among all aspects of the physical hospital space, flooring encompasses every square inch of the built environment and can significantly impact patient and staff experience, clinical outcomes, operational efficiency, clinical process of care and safety.
Material choice when designing a healthcare facility ultimately determines performance characteristics such as reducing noise, increasing cleanliness, controlling infection, eliminating exposure to cleaning chemicals, reducing maintenance time and expense, improving safety and enhancing the caregiver and patient experience.
Value-Based Purchasing
In conjunction with the ACA, Pay for Performance (P4P) or Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) is a financial reimbursement model that rewards health systems on the basis of quality and efficiency. Aspects of the built environment, such as flooring, play an important role in the amount of reimbursement awarded to hospitals under the ACA.
Although VCT flooring is typically the least expensive “first-cost” material, its maintenance costs can amount to 9 to 15 times the original install cost. Alternatively, premium rubber flooring has the lowest cost per square foot over 15 years. In addition to meeting ACA standards, which results in obtaining reimbursements at a higher rate of success, nora rubber flooring offers a life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tool that enables the accurate comparison of manufacturers’ products. The tool calculates cost, installation, product maintenance protocol, necessary man-hours and cleaning supplies needed for a given space, allowing industry leaders to make informed, long-term purchasing decisions.
Evidence-based Design for Health and Wellness
Evidence-based design (EBD) for flooring defines how the product can contribute to eight performance goals, including reducing slips and falls and associated injuries, reducing noise levels, reducing staff fatigue, reducing surface contamination, improving indoor air quality, improving patient satisfaction and producing the best return on investment.
nora premium rubber flooring satisfies each of the eight EBD performance goals, directly relating to the reimbursement drivers of VBP, including operational optimization, clinical efficiency, safety and patient experience.
Creating Safe, Healing Environments
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), falls as preventable events should never occur; however, falls are still one of the most common adverse events reported in hospitals. Between 30 to 35 percent of patients who fall sustain an injury, which, on average, adds 6.3 days to their hospital stay and $14,056 additional costs. Furthermore, a single nurse fall is estimated to cost a hospital approximately $33,000.
Along with reducing slips, trips and falls, material choice for flooring impacts infection control. A CDC study estimates the overall annual medical costs of HIAs to U.S. hospitals range from $35.7 billion to $45 billion. Because nora rubber flooring is not a media to microorganisms, it does not encourage or produce bacteria, which improves the hospital’s overall cleanliness.
Sound within the hospital has long been a source of complaints, generated by alarms, printers, cleaning equipment, rolling equipment and heavy foot traffic. Noise has a direct, measurable and negative impact on healing. It can cause sleep disruption, which affects wound healing and increases the need for medication and a longer stay. Noise also acts as a stressor for caregivers. To combat the noisy-nature of healthcare facilities, rubber flooring generally produces the least impact noise, especially compared to VCT placed directly on concrete and terrazzo.
Download our whitepaper for more information on how rubber flooring supports the reimbursement drivers of the Affordable Care Act.