Case Study: Developing a Strategy for a Rapidly-Growing Physician Network

Background

A two-hospital system in the Midwest had a 45-provider employed network that had grown tremendously over three years. Much of that growth was unplanned and primarily based on reactions to competitor actions and physician demands. The result:

• Practice losses were exorbitant.
• The management team was focused on day-to-day issues and putting out fires.
• Multiple executives were responsible for the group’s management, causing indecision and lack of accountability for the group’s success.
• Employed physicians still operated as if they were independent; there was no unifying group culture.
• There was no strategy in place to define the network’s ideal composition in terms of providers, specialties and locations in support of the system’s objectives.

Solution

HSG used a three-step approach to evaluating the physician network:

1. An organizational-level evaluation based on HSG’s Physician Network Solutions Assessment, which identifies the eight key drivers of employed physician network sustainability and success.
2. Individual practice assessments within the network to determine how efficiently the physician offices were operating.
3. Assessment of the system’s strategic plan and vision to:

• • Determine the impact the plan should have on the employed physician network; and
  • Define what gaps in the strategic plan were impacting the physician network.

Result

HSG developed a two-year, 27-step operational action plan. The plan focused on making sure the network was efficiently managed, positioned for growth, and financially sustainable. Among the 27 recommendations were:

• Development of a robust physician strategy for the hospital system to define the growth plan for the employed group for the next two years;
• A revised governance structure to expedite decision making and promote accountability;
• Development of a Physician Advisory Board to bring physicians into the group’s administration and promote buy-in and culture development;
• Performance improvement recommendations for the network’s revenue cycle and practice management functions; and
• Changes to the hospital system’s physician compensation model with a plan to deploy the new model throughout the network.

To discuss strategy development for your employed physician network, contact Travis Ansel, Director, at TAnsel@HSGadvisors.com or (502) 814-1182.