In an interactive session at the Becker's 11th CEO + CFO Roundtable, Ken Leonczyk, senior vice president of provider partnership strategy at Optum, and Chris Pass, the company's president of market performance partnerships, emphasized that partnerships are crucial for survival and growth, as they provide access to resources, expertise and influence. They also highlighted the need for shared goals, vision and culture in a partnership.
Mr. Leonczyk and Mr. Pass also noted that partnerships should not be seen as a means to an end, but as a way to achieve the goal of community-based, whole-person care that is of lower cost for communities. In addition, they discussed the importance of having clear metrics and a single source of truth in a partnership, and the need for transparency and trust. The speakers also touched on the challenges of maintaining partnerships over time, especially when the original partners leave or the organization's culture changes. Mr. Leonczyk and Mr. Pass suggested regular communication and re-education as ways to sustain partnerships.
Key takeaways
1. Partnerships are essential for achieving common goals and survival in the healthcare industry.
Health care organizations will increasingly need to consider new solutions as their ability to operate independently and successfully becomes progressively unsustainable. The formation of partnerships across care providers’ administrative functions has an opportunity to become common as partnerships that exist in other industries. But the right partnership offers more than just immediate cost savings. Make sure cultural and strategic alignment and historical performance are at the forefront of any potential discussion.
"For there to be real partnerships in the healthcare delivery system, it requires all entities to act differently than they did before," Mr. Pass said.
2. Trust and shared vision are crucial for successful partnerships.
While making partnership considerations, remember that outsourcing for savings only will not set you up for success. Avoid selecting a partner on price as this can lead to future cultural differences. Instead, consider partnerships that honor and enhance your focus on local community and if the partnership will promote and progress your organization’s strategic goals.
"When that happens, it seems like that's when the partnerships really gel and people are starting to solve problems together, get wins together and go from there." Mr. Pass said.
3. Metrics and accountability are important for measuring partnership success.
Good governance is the cornerstone for partnership success. It’s critical that senior leadership agree to a contract with aligned incentives and goals that require collaboration to evolve fairly and that alliance managers are established with a focus on priorities, advocating for resources, and ensuring performance is measured against commitments.
"You need to have somebody who's not digging their heels in and just arguing to win their position," Mr. Pass said. "We've got to have a conversation about how [these metrics enable] us to achieve our ultimate goal together. It's not always an easy conversation, but if … it's the right partner in the first place based on you already knowing their values, what's important to them, then you're going to get to a good point."
4: Partnerships require ongoing flexibility and adaptability to maintain success.
Partner organizations should acknowledge that the scope of a relationship is likely to shift over time. Changes in market dynamics or the emergence of new products may lead to a re-evaluation of performance at specific intervals and when organizations accept this reality it encourages them to plan more carefully at the outset."Partnerships don't come naturally," Mr. Pass said. "You have to have dedicated oversight of it."