on December 20, 2011 |
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Topics: Service Lines, Planning, Strategy, Care Transformation, Performance Improvement, Evidenced-Based Practice, Methodologies, Multidisciplinary Care, Patient-Focused Care
Eric Cragun
The mandate to elevate the value of care across our service lines—the key driver behind service line transformation—requires organizations to first strengthen their service line infrastructure and then make use of the improved infrastructure to redesign their care processes. To that end, we have recently added to Blueprint for Service Line Transformation, updating the study with a section on Re-Designing Care Processes for Value. This second section complements the earlier piece, which provides guidance for Building a Dynamic Leadership Structure. Together, the two sections detail near-term imperatives facing hospitals and health systems, providing actionable steps that yield improved performance under today’s fee-for-service incentives while also preparing organizations for future value-based incentives.
The new section focuses on leveraging service lines to build an efficient, evidence-based specialty care enterprise within the hospital, as well as extending the service line’s purview beyond the hospital in response to assumption of greater risk. Recommitting to evidence-based medicine plays a key role in successfully making the transition to value-based care. Key imperatives for this recommitment include:
- Beginning the process of care standardization
- Creating a patient-centered focus with multidisciplinary care
- Directing patients to “right” site of care
- Formalizing relationships with post-acute care
- Exercising caution with service line-specific prevention efforts
Detailed guidance and case studies for each of the above imperatives are now available on our website, and we will continue to focus on these topics through this blog and our upcoming 2012 national meeting series.
