Future Healthcare Collaboration, data, and process improvement to lower costs and raise quality

Transcription

1 September October 2010 Breakthroughs: Future Healthcare Collaboration, data, and process improvement to lower costs and raise quality Executive Summary The Improvement Imperative This is the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY from HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs: Future Healthcare In collaboration with

2 B Y G i e n n a s h a w 42 Executive Summary The Improvement Imperative The American healthcare system is nothing if not diverse, made up of organizations from critical access hospitals to community hospitals to multihospital systems to large academic medical centers. And each one has different resources, different capital and infrastructure needs, different communities to serve, different market conditions, and different strengths and weaknesses. One thing they all have in common? An imperative to do better. Every hospital regardless of size, geography, or any number of variables, must work to improve quality and patient safety, reduce waste, and improve performance and efficiency in order to survive coming changes in the healthcare economic landscape especially reimbursement changes that will reward high clinical quality, reduced waste, and streamlined care. To thrive even survive hospitals and health systems must create value. To do so will not be easy or quick. But in the long run,

3 Executive Summary The Improvement Imperative 43 it is not only the right thing to do from a quality and safety standpoint, it is also the right thing to do for the financial health of your organization. The four hospitals featured in this HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs report are using a variety of tactics to create value from scrutinizing and improving processes to collaborating with other organizations to resources and best practices. The 220-bed Chester County (PA) Hospital and Health System uses a number of strategies to turn its size into an advantage:» Smaller is also leaner. Chester County feels like it can compete in an environment where costs and charges come down. Without payer bargaining power, it has no choice but to be lean and efficient. Leaders there welcome changes in reimbursement, when size and negotiating power will be less relevant than outcomes and cost.» Collaboration doesn t have to be all or nothing: Chester County plans to form a combination of creative collaborations, such as with group purchasing organizations, in order to reduce costs and improve its power to bargain with vendors. While other small organizations might think that the looming changes in healthcare require risky mergers or massive investments in technology to compete with a consolidating market, Chester County is focusing on fundamental process improvement. At Virtua, a four-hospital health system based in Marlton, NJ, process improvement is driven by a strong leadership team and collaboration at all levels of the organization:» It starts with employees: Virtua has worked hard to create a common employee vision, which built a solid foundation for process improvement. That was the thing that anchored our employees and this organization to each other, says CEO Rich Miller.» Trust among team members is paramount: That openness and that trust allows us to have the deep conversations we have about performance, says Miller.» Response to change does not vary: Whenever there is a proposed process change, a new project, or a discussion about strategy, the steps are the same: define, measure, control, reevaluate.» The cascading effect is always considered: Virtua doesn t just change one part of a process it takes into consideration all of the ways that change might affect other processes throughout the organization. It pulls together multi-departmental teams to consider all of the possible repercussions. Crouse Hospital is a 506-bed hospital in Syracuse, NY. It uses a number of tactics to save money and improve outcomes:» Be better than you have to be: While many hospitals only investigate incidents required by state reporting regulations, Crouse examines even incidents that it is not required to report in order to learn from them. Doing so has produced close to 250 new ideas on how to be a safer organization.» Get design input to save costs: Constituent groups must be included in design planning and process, and everything from

4 Executive Summary The Improvement Imperative 44 Collaboration doesn t have to be all or nothing: Chester County plans to form a combination of creative collaborations, such as with group purchasing organizations, in order to reduce costs and improve its power to bargain with vendors operations to patient flow must be considered through the eyes of the patient.» Collaborate for clinical outcomes: Crouse participates in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, which promotes best practices to reduce complications, improve surgical outcomes, and decrease costs. Benchmarking and borrowing best practices from other organizations has improved surgical outcomes. Heartland Health is an integrated system with a 353-bed hospital in St. Joseph, MO. It has realized total savings of $25 million over four years through a focus on process improvement, vigorous costcutting, and an eye toward sharing best practices. Its tactics include the following:» Think differently: The organization is preparing for a dramatic and fundamental redesign of how it provides healthcare by becoming more involved in the true health of patients, making doctors accountable for results, and making patients accountable for their own health.» Identify gaps in care: Painstaking process work to identify gaps in care that waste time and resources will result in real savings. Heartland recently participated in a congestive heart failure readmission pilot study. Providing follow-up care dramatically reduced readmission rates.» Create consistency: Heartland s homegrown performance management system is baked into how the organization solves every problem. For the past decade, deliverables and methodologies have been taught to staff, physicians, and leaders. To build momentum, system leaders hand out cash awards or trips to model teams or individuals.» Find the right partners: Heartland has learned that not everyone wants to best practices. The best collaborations are mutual each side gives something, and each side gets something. Being open with best practices is the best way to learn new things. The key is to find the right forums and groups that will disseminate best practices liberally. Regardless of your organization s unique profile and challenges, there are lessons to be learned from these four organizations. By reading their stories, you are in effect taking the first step on the journey toward process improvement collaborating with other organizations to develop your own best practices.

5 About VHA VHA based in Irving, Texas, is a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations that work together to drive maximum savings in the supply chain arena, set new levels of clinical performance and identify and implement best practices to improve operational efficiency and clinical outcomes. Formed in 1977, through its 16 regional offices, VHA serves more than 1,400 hospitals and more than 30,000+ non-acute care providers nationwide. About HealthLeaders Media HealthLeaders Media is a leading multi-platform media company dedicated to meeting the business information needs of healthcare executives and professionals. To keep up with the latest on trends in physician alignment and other critical issues facing healthcare senior leaders, go to: Sponsorship For information regarding underwriting opportunities for HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs, contact: Paul Mattioli, Senior Director of Sales 800/ pmattioli@healthleadersmedia.com Looking for the rest of the issue? To view this full issue of HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs: Future Healthcare, please click here to download: Copyright 2010 HealthLeaders Media, 5115 Maryland Way, Brentwood, TN Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of HealthLeaders Media. Mention of products and services does not constitute endorsement. Advice given is general, and readers should consult professional counsel for specific legal, ethical, or clinical questions.