As Health Reform continues to unfold, the pace of change is picking up speed, as new models of reimbursement, care delivery and access are taking shape.These shifts on the provider side should represent good news for millions of Americans that need better support from the healthcare system, especially since many of those with chronic disease aren’t currently getting recommended care. Coupled with the fact that most patients do not adhere to their medication and treatment regimens or recommended lifestyle and health behavior changes, and it’s easy to spot some of the challenges ahead.Here’s where the payer side, particularly health plans, can really help.Health plans have ready access to claims data and other relevant clinical information plus a direct line to their members for targeted messaging and clinical interventions. While not a traditional strategic imperative, health plans do have a significant opportunity to help drive behavior change, reduce risk, and produce positive health outcomes for their members.Most plans already provide member portals and other helpful resources, and many have begun to focus on enhancing these activities and initiatives to enhance their value and impact. But, to compete effectively, in this rapidly shifting market, they will need to re-orient their mindset and approach to be far more consumer-centric.Consumer PowerAfter a decade of slow growth, Healthcare Consumerism has begun to take hold. Participation in high deductible health plans (HDHPs) is at a record level with 23% of all those with employer-sponsored insurance now enrolled in an HDHP. Other emerging factors such as price comparison tools, quality ratings, and retail health alternatives will continue to put more power into the hands of consumers.Health plans need to respond to this trend and design strategic solutions or partner with best-in-class service providers for their member populations. This puts a greater burden on member engagement outreach and interactions that are positive, relevant and trust-building.This will not be easy. Recent surveys reveal a deep trust gap between insurance companies and their members. The KMB Group survey of 34,000 consumers, find that only 22% of members identify their health plans as a “trusted source.” This compares to 80% for physicians.And this year’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) report indicates that customer satisfaction with health plans declined between 2013 and 2014, stating, “There is no area where health insurance companies offer an outstanding experience.”Member EngagementMember engagement is new territory for most health plans, and with Medicaid expansion, the influx of age-in Medicare members and the newly insured, it is increasingly important to provide consumer-oriented communications interactions, and interventions.As Star Ratings and other quality metrics rise in prominence, and consumer brand preference and loyalty begin to become important factors, health plans will find themselves striving for excellence in consumer experience, though outstanding member engagement.We see a number of areas that need to be addressed in developing an effective member engagement strategy:1. Understand how consumers think and operate in their own health and healthcare world.Health plans need to conduct a thorough and honest review of the outreach that goes to members, along with any and all on-going interactions, the customer service function, and related areas. This is the essential starting point for meaningful change and can help uncover insights about the consumer decision process. Additionally, areas such as behavioral economics provides many important learnings and can be a good guide for creating a messaging strategy to members.2. Adopt a member-centric marketing system designed around their concerns and interests.Using a consumer marketing mindset in establishing the communications strategy and identifying measurable actions, health plans need to become be a valued partner. Strategic messaging needs to be incorporated into all member touch points and aspects of outreach. Too many health plans still rely on dated letters from their Chief Medical Officer as the introduction to any number of health enhancement initiatives. Scrap them and find ways to make the content meaningful, relevant, and credible to the recipient.3. Strategically align and integrate all health improvement service offerings.Most health plans can check all the boxes relative to their service offerings in wellness, care management, disease management, pharmacy coordination, and an array of other services – but bringing them all together in a seamless solution is what members truly want and need. And by providing an overlay of measurement and feedback, plans can help ensure members receive what is most meaningful to them.These are ways health plans can think about advancing their capabilities toward being member-focused and engagement-oriented. There’s a lot they can do to actually change member behavior, lower risk and contribute to better overall health outcomes – which should produce stronger margins and returns.Health plans can learn and adopt many consumer marketing strategies from other industries, all of which can more create positive experiences in healthcare. In a consumer health plan market, the winners that emerge will likely be those that excel in member engagement.

Buying a business in Canada via the right acquisition financing will often involve looking beyond the numbers when it comes to ensuring business purchase financing options are in place. Business loans to buy an existing business is not just all about negotiating the sale price – it’s also about the necessary funding solutions that must be put in place to ensure business survival and profitability. Let’s dig in.The pros, of course, call it ‘ due diligence’, when it comes to considering a business investment loan and how to buy a business, as well financing a business for sale is all about a pretty basic common sense premise: ensuring sales, inventory, accounts receivable and accounts payable are all reasonable, and that projected sales volumes make sense in the long term.Bottom line- the proper business purchase loan finance solutions tie together your plans for mgmt, mfg or delivering services, and marketing.The essence of any business, large or small, is cash management. Working capital solutions and business financing rates must also be considered for effective ongoing operations.A/R Financing/factoringBank revolving credit linesNon bank asset based lines of creditInventory FinancingTax Credit FinancingSmall business govt guaranteed loans (maximum 1 Million $) Small Business Loans To Purchase A Business Can Often Come From The Government Of Canada Small Business Loan ProgramFirms that are not profitable or that have ‘ challenged’ balance sheets will not qualify for what we call ‘ traditional’ finance. These types of companies can’t comply with the financial ratios and collateral demanded by our Canadian chartered banks. Almost all businesses that sell on credit, large or small, need some sort of business credit line.Numerous alternative financing solutions are in fact available – but at the same time new owners/mgt must be able to address and talk to items such as gross margins, operating inefficiencies, etc.At 7 Park Avenue Financial we speak to many clients who wish to purchase a franchise business. That can be achieved via various financing programs, and might often include some ‘ seller financing ‘ when it comes to an overall finance strategy. That seller finance assistance in essence is another alternative capital that can allow the buyer to successfully complete the transaction. We also note that both new and used franchises can be purchased and financed.Business Acquisition Financing CanadaBuying a business for ‘ all-cash ‘ is almost never the option available to purchasers. Top experts tell us than not even a 1/3 of businesses purchased are done via 100% financing. Unfortunately sellers like/want cash! More often than not the final structure of your transaction will be:Owner CashExternal FinancingVendor Take Back/Seller Financing (not always, but often)’ABL ‘ (Asset Based Lending) is often a solid solution for a business financing strategy. These types of facilities allow you to borrow heavily against inventory, accounts receivable and equipment/fixed assets.One legal/technical issue often becomes a critical point in acquisition financing. That is the issue of ‘asset sales’ vs. ‘share sales’. From a buyer’s perspective asset sales tend to make more sense – sellers focus on share and tax strategies for selling their businesses. This can often complicate financing.We’ve seen there are some critical issues that can make or break the success of financing a business purchase. Those issues include:Proper valuation pricingDebt loadWorking capital and cash flow financing challengesIf you’re focused on a winning deal and financing a business purchase properly seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor who can assist you with your funding needs.

The increasing importance of technology in every industry continues to drive the need for a diverse group of qualified professionals to manage the implementation and changes in technology. Pursuing a degree at a technology management graduate school can be the right step for beginning a rewarding career in the management of everything from computer hardware to information security within an organization.Overview of Technology ManagementTechnology management professionals are in high demand because of the unique set of skills they possess. In this field, professionals are able to make leadership and management based decisions, develop solutions to technology issues, and approach the management of technology from a systems thinking perspective.For any management professionals, some of the skills that are required include being able to manage personnel, organizational design and communication, and financial analysis and decision making. Technology management professionals combine this knowledge with specific information technology and systems technology skills and knowledge to effectively lead and make decisions for the assessment, forecasting, strategies, and decision making with a number of different information technology departments.Technology Management Graduate Degree CurriculumThere are a number of technology_management graduate school choices for prospective students. While there are differences depending on the individual program and school, students most often complete a set of core courses, electives, and a graduate program in order to complete the graduate degree. This combination helps to prepare graduates to transfer relevant, useful skills into the workforce.From graduate level courses in technology to business, students are able to learn a variety of skills and gain valuable knowledge. Some courses in technology often included information technology_management, operations, emerging technologies, and ethics. Additionally, students will take business and management courses such as supply chain management, sales and marketing, and accounting for technology.These courses give students the opportunity to gain a broad foundation to develop an understanding of the basic fundamentals of technology management. The electives and the master’s project build on that foundation to help students begin to focus their education on a specific area of technology_management. Some examples of electives include knowledge management and relationship management. The master’s level project combines the knowledge, theory, and skill a graduate student has gained though academic coursework to examine how that ability can be transferred to a real-world, challenging business issue or problem in order to find a solution or manage a specific scenario.Career Development with a Technology Management Graduate DegreeTechnology professionals must develop a variety of skills. In addition to understanding information technology, professionals in this field must also be able to manage change with technology and technology systems, integrate functional areas of business, leveraging technology, and business management principles to effectively lead the technology driven functions of a business.These skills are needed in many different types of positions across all types of workplaces, from the federal government to non-profit and educational organizations to private corporations. From the chief information officer to information technology manager, a degree in technology_management is a helpful tool to gain the experience and skills needed for all types of management positions of technology-driven departments.