Top hospital and health system executives shape organizational culture and are responsible for big decisions that affect patients and employees.
In 2020, healthcare CEOs and CFOs faced unprecedented challenges in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several U.S. executives gathered at the Becker's Healthcare CEO + CFO Virtual Event on Nov. 9-12 to share best practices for organizational excellence and insights on their strategic plans for the future.
Click here to view the panels on demand.
10 takeaways:
1. Accountable leaders have three key skills: They can think systemically; they have a fascination with the future; and they're able to mobilize others to take action.
2. To foster a strong innovation program, healthcare leaders must develop a culture of psychological safety where every employee feels comfortable asking questions, making suggestions and sharing ideas. Leaders must also instill a culture in which team members are comfortable with failure, as long as they can quickly learn from it and make changes as necessary.
3. The health system of the future will need to account for variables that have been long coming for healthcare, such as the move to outpatient and home settings and the rise of health retailers. Fundamentally, health systems will have to grapple with the fact that their cross-subsidization business model — where commercial payers offset government reimbursement — is rapidly losing buy-in from stakeholders and patients.
4. COVID-19 has made it clear that addressing health equity needs to be among health system executives' top priorities. Many things that end up being health needs start out as social needs, and the pandemic has highlighted this.
5. Worker safety will continue to be a pressing issue. Healthcare workers are under tremendous strain as they balance care for patients with COVID-19 and trying to protect their own health.
6. In some markets, the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic has accelerated direct contracting conversations between employers and health systems. Employers are increasingly seeking partnership with health systems, whether through a narrow network agreement, on-site services or primary care initiatives.
7. Large health systems achieve operational excellence when they can reduce variation and create efficiencies that were impossible to achieve alone. But many organizations get bigger by focusing on top-line revenue growth without thinking about how they'll achieve economies of scale. It's why some mergers fail or don't deliver the performance they promised.
8. Health systems are sharpening communication strategies to advance population health initiatives during the pandemic. Facilitating the appointment process, connecting care coordinators and care planners, and continuing communication with patients after discharge have contributed to improved outcomes and care quality when in-person visits have been limited.
9. The pandemic has pushed population health programs to focus on patients' social determinants of health. It's critical to understand factors such as where patients live, their total spend and where they get care so health systems can integrate that data into better care plans.
10. Pediatric health system executives are investing in strategic growth, telemedicine and IT infrastructure expansion. They aim to meet the unique challenges children face during the pandemic, such as mental health issues related to social isolation and difficulties with online learning.