Problem

Persuade regulatory and legal authorities that the merger of two community hospitals would achieve sufficient economic benefit and improve services to the community.

Strategy

Conduct an operational analysis and develop a post-merger integration plan to achieve significant economies and efficiencies.

Solution

We conducted an efficiency analysis and developed and implemented a post merger integration plan for this $350M two-hospital community health system. Our recommended solutions identified specific actions that would improve clinical service delivery and generate $17M in annual cost reduction resulting from organizational consolidation, clinical redeployment, contract consolidation and productivity improvement. We then coached and supported management in executing the recommendations successfully. 

Problem

An academic medical center was facing default on bonds due to poor financial performance and inability to turn operations around.

Strategy

Conduct a comprehensive operational assessment, develop improvement plans and implement best operational practices to improve financial performance.

Solution

We conducted a comprehensive operational turnaround assessment addressing revenue cycle management, care management, patient throughput, surgical services, and emergency department performance. In addition, we assessed and redesigned organizational structure to reduce management layers, improve decision-making and communications. Finally, we instituted productivity standards and revitalized a productivity monitoring system. The results of our work yielded over $10 million in EBITDA improvements in five months and returned hospital into compliance with bond covenants.

Problem

A stand-alone community hospital had recently acquired an underperforming primary care group practice and was uncertain of its ability to improve operational and financial performance of the practice.

Strategy

Develop a performance improvement plan for the practice and establish performance metrics.

Solution

We evaluated and assessed the operations and finances of the practice and identified numerous operational and financial improvements. We the developed and implemented a turnaround plan that resulted in improvement in physician productivity, reduced overhead costs, accelerated collections, and brought the practice into conformance with desired performance.

Problem

A metropolitan hospital system had recently acquired a smaller urban hospital with several underperforming departments. The system wanted to consolidate certain services to improve system operating margin.

Strategy

Develop a plan to consolidate clinical laboratory and pathology services to eliminate duplication and reduce costs.

Solution

We assessed and analyzed opportunities for laboratory services consolidation and process redesign. Our solutions included redesigning the organization structure and clinical lab processes and operations and eliminating unnecessary referral testing to achieve a 20% ($2.5M) reduction in annual operating expenses, while improving services to system affiliated physicians.

Problem

A community medical center was planning for the selection and implementation of an advanced clinical information system. As part of their planning they wanted to identify improvements in core clinical processes that could be enabled by the new technology.

Strategy

Assess key operational processes and develop a plan for leveraging the new technology to improve productivity and quality.

Solution

We created process models of all major clinical processes and, working collaboratively with medical center managers, identified the improvements in process and productivity that the new information system would support. We then documented the impact of these prospective improvements on cost, quality, safety and efficiency. The process models provided a blueprint for the design and implementation of the new information system.

Problem

A metropolitan academic medical center wanted to develop a plan to lead its market with innovations in the delivery of diagnostic imaging services.

Strategy

Develop an innovative solution to organizing and providing imaging services across seven affiliated hospitals.

Solution

We directed the development of a reengineered integrated imaging services solution for a $1.2B multi-hospital academic medical center, identifying a 30 percent ($8.0M) savings over three years. We provided financial and operational benchmarking, development of a future state vision, workshops on the future of imaging, development of a business case, and an implementation plan.

We have assisted numerous hospital managements in developing physician-hospital strategic plans utilizing surveys of hospital medical staffs to determine their interest in various physician-hospital partnerships, including joint ventures, collaborative practice models, specialty recruiting.

We have also provided strategic advisory services to over 50 hospitals; delivering research findings and facilitating executive strategy sessions in areas of clinical strategy, clinical operations, recruitment and retention, and hospital-physician strategy.

For a national professional society, we facilitated a workshop to develop members’ recommendations related to developing a new health care payment system. We conduced facilitated sessions focused on various aspects of health care payment, consolidated the session work products into a comprehensive proposal, and facilitated member voting to rank the support various proposals. The results of this workshop are being used by the society to develop various position papers and refine its policy recommendations related to various elements of health care payment system reform.