Here are five ways hospitals can prepare for the future.
1. Managing a continuum. Being an integral part of the continuum of care has always been important for hospitals' continued success, say Luke Peterson and Kate Lovrien of Kurt Salmon. With increasing emphasis on population health, the ability to lead and manage the continuum of care provides a strong, durable competitive advantage beyond simply providing only the acute care, hospital component. Organizations that have developed an effective and cohesive continuum of care have a strong competitive advantage over other organizations in the market.
Independent hospitals positioned strongly in each of these eight areas are likely well positioned to remain independent. Leaders of independent hospitals should carefully analyze their position and create strategies to strengthen each factor that can be influenced. By combining and strengthening these elements, organizations that desire to remain independent can do so for the foreseeable future.
2. Enter into clinical relationships with other providers. If your hospital is struggling, consider entering into a clinical relationship with other providers in your community. These relationships can help your hospital with recruiting and bring in additional services to grow your market share. "You can remain independent, but work with other providers in clinical affiliations," says Mickey Bilbrey, vice president of Eastern operations for Quorum Health Resources. "However, if there are significant capital needs that a community just can't meet, they might need to examine or explore some type of consolidation with a provider."
Hospital management companies, such as QHR, can help facilitate these types of relationships on a grander scale. "We can give them an outside view and share with them best practices of our other hospital clients," says Mr. Bilbrey. "We also bring a view of the hospital's operations or strategy, so they have a better chance of coping with a volatile marketplace."
3. Identify and remove disposed assets from the books. Hospital staff are very good at recording the purchase of new equipment or devices, but they often forget to remove these items from the record when they depart. This practice can leave several years' worth of old assets on the books. "There is some benefit to cleaning that," says Michael Staunton of Principle Valuation. "It becomes easier to read the record when it's cleaned up, and disposing of old assets from the books can also impact the hospital's bottom line."
An average-sized hospital could potentially record 500 new assets per month, and if there isn't an organized system for tracking what comes in and goes out, it's easy to make mistakes. "As the record grows, people don't think about the disposals," he says. For example, if computers in the hospital are updated, the old computers should be removed from the system so the books only reflect the actual assets currently in use rather than showing the inflated number of collected assets over time.
4. Be a good listener. Hospital executives should listen to the medical staff and their community members to assess what services are needed most at the hospital. "Talking and listening with the medical staff is important because they work with patients from the community every day," says Mr. Bilbrey. "Also, listen to board members because they are out there in the community and they can be a voice of what they are hearing." To best collect this information, create a forum for the community to easily interact with the hospital.
5. Pay attention to payor relationships. The payor mix of various communities plays a large part in determining the financial resources available to hospitals, say Mr. Peterson and Ms. Lovrien. Markets with large concentrations of payors or high percentages of lower-reimbursing payors have a large risk and low margin for error. Additionally, hospitals that have not developed the relationships and infrastructure necessary to manage risk-based payments or even bundled payments are facing significant challenges in the future payment environment.
Related Articles on Hospital Care:
Understanding Differing Senior Management Perspectives on Meaningful Use
Top 7 Meaningful Use Myths Debunked
A New Approach to Ambulatory Services
1. Managing a continuum. Being an integral part of the continuum of care has always been important for hospitals' continued success, say Luke Peterson and Kate Lovrien of Kurt Salmon. With increasing emphasis on population health, the ability to lead and manage the continuum of care provides a strong, durable competitive advantage beyond simply providing only the acute care, hospital component. Organizations that have developed an effective and cohesive continuum of care have a strong competitive advantage over other organizations in the market.
Independent hospitals positioned strongly in each of these eight areas are likely well positioned to remain independent. Leaders of independent hospitals should carefully analyze their position and create strategies to strengthen each factor that can be influenced. By combining and strengthening these elements, organizations that desire to remain independent can do so for the foreseeable future.
2. Enter into clinical relationships with other providers. If your hospital is struggling, consider entering into a clinical relationship with other providers in your community. These relationships can help your hospital with recruiting and bring in additional services to grow your market share. "You can remain independent, but work with other providers in clinical affiliations," says Mickey Bilbrey, vice president of Eastern operations for Quorum Health Resources. "However, if there are significant capital needs that a community just can't meet, they might need to examine or explore some type of consolidation with a provider."
Hospital management companies, such as QHR, can help facilitate these types of relationships on a grander scale. "We can give them an outside view and share with them best practices of our other hospital clients," says Mr. Bilbrey. "We also bring a view of the hospital's operations or strategy, so they have a better chance of coping with a volatile marketplace."
3. Identify and remove disposed assets from the books. Hospital staff are very good at recording the purchase of new equipment or devices, but they often forget to remove these items from the record when they depart. This practice can leave several years' worth of old assets on the books. "There is some benefit to cleaning that," says Michael Staunton of Principle Valuation. "It becomes easier to read the record when it's cleaned up, and disposing of old assets from the books can also impact the hospital's bottom line."
An average-sized hospital could potentially record 500 new assets per month, and if there isn't an organized system for tracking what comes in and goes out, it's easy to make mistakes. "As the record grows, people don't think about the disposals," he says. For example, if computers in the hospital are updated, the old computers should be removed from the system so the books only reflect the actual assets currently in use rather than showing the inflated number of collected assets over time.
4. Be a good listener. Hospital executives should listen to the medical staff and their community members to assess what services are needed most at the hospital. "Talking and listening with the medical staff is important because they work with patients from the community every day," says Mr. Bilbrey. "Also, listen to board members because they are out there in the community and they can be a voice of what they are hearing." To best collect this information, create a forum for the community to easily interact with the hospital.
5. Pay attention to payor relationships. The payor mix of various communities plays a large part in determining the financial resources available to hospitals, say Mr. Peterson and Ms. Lovrien. Markets with large concentrations of payors or high percentages of lower-reimbursing payors have a large risk and low margin for error. Additionally, hospitals that have not developed the relationships and infrastructure necessary to manage risk-based payments or even bundled payments are facing significant challenges in the future payment environment.
Related Articles on Hospital Care:
Understanding Differing Senior Management Perspectives on Meaningful Use
Top 7 Meaningful Use Myths Debunked
A New Approach to Ambulatory Services