Changing Healthcare Environment

CHANGING HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT FOCUS OF 2014 STPH LEADERSHIP RETREAT

The 2014 Strategic Planning Retreat during Memorial Day weekend brought together board, administration and medical staff to evaluate key strategic initiatives.

This year's retreat included nationally recognized outside speakers who provided perspective on priorities affecting STPH in the dynamic healthcare landscape.

CEO Patti Ellish opened the retreat by addressing the hospital's transformation from a stand-alone acute-care hospital to being part of a clinically integrated network through a regional partnership strategy. She highlighted STPH's strong market position and financial performance that has positioned the organization to choose its own path to success in the unfolding healthcare reform environment. She described key initiatives for continued success through maintaining a high level of performance on key quality metrics while lowering the cost structure of providing care. Additional priorities include improving IT infrastructure and developing organizational capability for population health management.

Dan Marino of Health Directions Consulting in Chicago presented an overview of the critical success factors for a clinically integrated network. The foundation of clinical integration is physician-led transparent measurement and reporting of quality and performance data resulting in feedback for continuous quality improvement. His presentation highlighted clinical integration initiatives throughout the country and described the consolidation occurring in our market and its effects on regional initiatives. He focused on the need for physicians and hospitals to successfully align in clinically integrated networks capable of taking risk for managing populations.

Dr. Shawn Griffin, Chief Information and Quality Officer with the Memorial Hermann MD network in Houston, gave an outstanding presentation on the MHMD success with clinical integration. MHMD has achieved a high-level of quality care and patient safety in their multi-hospital system while simultaneously bringing value to payers in the Houston market and to the individual physicians who participate in the MHMD network. Dr. Griffin provided details about the patient outcomes measurement, transparency, and care management system for population health, provider incentives and communication strategies implemented by MHMD to achieve success with their clinical integration program.

STPH Chief Integration Officer Dr. Pat Torcson provided the group with an update on the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and its effects on STPH and the medical staff four years later. He explained the status of insurance reforms in Louisiana resulting from the ACA and the transition of healthcare payment from fee for service reimbursement to value-based payment models. Dr. Torcson described the restructuring of healthcare organizations under physician leadership to develop delivery systems that were capable of achieving the National Healthcare Quality Strategy Triple Aim of better care for individuals, better health for population and lowering costs when appropriate.

Dr. Mike Hill, medical director for the St. Tammany Quality Network (STQN) clinical integration program, announced STQN membership now includes more than 160 physicians representing 30 medical specialties. The STQN Performance Management Committee was actively working on hospital value initiatives and developing scorecards for transparent measurement of ambulatory and inpatient performance measures. The STQN Finance and Contracting Committee was evaluating incentive-based performance contracts with commercial payers and preparing to participate in the CMS Medicare Shared Savings Program. The STQN Network Operations Committee was developing IT infrastructure to support the network performance agenda.

The retreat was productive in bringing together key stakeholders responsible for the success of STPH and the medical staff. The meeting forum allowed for an excellent opportunity for discussion and strategic planning to address key challenges facing healthcare providers.