Health System Strategic Planning in an Uncertain Environment: Focusing on Strategies that Matter
Words from the Team
Health system strategic planning has never been more important for healthcare systems. A well thought out plan will force you to prioritize among the many competing priorities, and failing to plan almost always leads to disjointed, unfocused leadership. Equally important, good health system strategic planning will help you communicate the vision and leadership’s intent throughout the organization. If it does that well, the plan will help staff and providers understand how they contribute to the overall success of the enterprise.
At HSG, as you will soon read, we believe physicians are at the core any good strategy. As accountability grows, and payers push for outcomes around cost and quality (and access too), it is hard to imagine how a health system will be successful without a strong group of physician partners. We will admit to that bias up front, and think it is a fool errand to pursue success without physician partners.
We hope you find this whitepaper useful in evaluating and enhancing your current strategic planning processes. If you need an outside perspective, HSG can partner with you to build and execute your health system strategic plan to achieve short and long-term objectives of the system.
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Conclusion
A health system strategic planning initiative is about setting priorities and allocating scarce resources. But this activity will be wasted without two issues that must be driven by the C-Suite. One is discipline and accountability, maintaining focus on the selected priorities and the implementation plans. Without that, the plan becomes the dreaded “book sitting on the shelf.” A second element is beginning to intentionally create a culture that will support the vision and strategy. Accountability and discipline are certainly part of that culture. But your system also must address what attitudes and behaviors will be required to achieve success, and what principles, incentives, and supports are in place to drive that behavior.
With these elements in focus, the strategic plan will become a clarifying document. The plan will be the roadmap to implement the vision and create the accountable organization needed by your community. With these outcomes, it is undoubtedly worthy of management attention and investment.
To discuss how HSG can partner with your organization in your health system strategic planning efforts with a focus on your employed provider network, contact David Miller directly.