Physician Engagement for the Established CIN

by Molly Johnson, Manager & Danielle Bangs, Senior Associate

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Physician engagement is critical to CIN success. True engagement, however, takes vigilance and a long-term commitment; having physicians join your network is just the beginning of the process. Our experience has shown that, despite their best intentions, many CINs lose touch with their physician membership at some point along the road. Effectively engaging physicians in […]

The Evolving Academic-Community Partnership: Part I

by Katherine Cwiek, Manager & Laura Zacchigna, Senior Associate

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Industry transformation requires major adaptations from healthcare organizations – to increase scale, enhance scope, and achieve differentiation, among others. Partnerships can be a key vehicle to facilitate and pursue these adaptations. Partnerships between academic and community hospitals/health systems are a unique sub-set of healthcare provider partnerships. Academic providers aligning with their community counterparts is, of […]

Post-Acute Care Partners: A Make-or-Break Choice

by Mark Dubow, Director

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Your selection of post-acute care (“PAC”) partners can make or break your value-based payment programs and care management initiatives. Even where fee-for-service is still dominant, having the right post-acute care partners can improve economic performance by reducing length of stay and minimizing acute care readmissions. Most health systems and hospitals do not own PAC facilities, […]

Medical Staff Plans: Rightsizing in a Healthcare Reform Environment

by Craig Holm, Director

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The impact of the Affordable Care Act on clinical practice patterns has influenced the utilization of and need for most physician specialties. Completing a medical staff development plan will help a health system or hospital right size its medical staff in light of these impacts, and ultimately help determine community need for physicians. Yet too […]

Using Social Media in Healthcare Strategic Assessments

by Meredith Inniger, Manager & Idette Elizondo, Manager

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Social media’s most valuable role in strategic planning is in communication of strategic planning initiatives and priorities rather than for research during the planning process. It can be particularly useful for reaching employees and creating momentum for moving forward. Your organization can share information about mission, vision, goals, values and ongoing initiatives from your own […]

Overcoming Resistance to Strategic Planning

by Idette Elizondo, Manager

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There are countless challenges that health systems may face in developing a strategic plan. Below are some of the more common reasons we have found for reluctance to plan. We have also included some thoughts on overcoming understandable hesitation. Reason 1: “We’re too busy keeping the organization operating.” Those in the C-Suite or on the […]

Avoiding “Group Think” in Strategic Planning

by Meghan Corcoran, Senior Associate

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To achieve the best work product from strategic planning sessions, it is imperative for leaders to foster group collaboration and seek input from multiple stakeholders with different backgrounds and skill sets. Even when a diverse group of participants are selected, it can be difficult to obtain input from all participants if one or a few […]

Balancing Cost Reduction and Growth

by Katherine Cwiek & Danielle DiPersia

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The challenges faced by the healthcare industry require healthcare organizations to reduce costs. Yet many organizations are determined to grow, and doing both simultaneously may seem counterintuitive. Yet the two imperatives are not necessarily at odds. Growth is typically seen as the product of investment. And reducing costs can itself require the investment of organizational […]

“What” Before “How”

by Meredith Inniger

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Great healthcare leaders are often good problem solvers with a penchant for taking rapid action to solve operational and strategic issues. This positive leadership quality can create challenges in strategic planning, where multiple initiatives may be competing for an organization’s available resources. Leaders may jump into action on several priorities simultaneously. When this happens, significant […]

Designing Financially Sustainable Care Management

by Idette Elizondo and Meghan Corcoran

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Bundled payment, the Medicare Shared Savings program, and commercial value-based payment programs have caused many providers to develop care management programs focused on readmission reduction and chronic disease management. Our experience suggests that it is essential to apply both clinical and financial expertise when redesigning care. Financial professionals can add important perspective to a clinical […]