HFMA identifies seven competencies for promoting integration between hospitals, physicians

As the nation moves toward healthcare reform, one of the key strategies that healthcare providers will deploy in order to succeed in a reform environment is clinical integration. The Healthcare Financial Management Association recently released a new whitepaper Integration in a Reform Environment: Strategies for Success.

“Physician leaders are critical to the success of integrated health systems across the country. These leaders will be instrumental in optimizing clinical outcomes, improving patient safety, enhancing the patient experience, and creating a culture of committed physicians so essential in enhancing the value of the care delivered to our patients.”

Richard Clarke, DHA, FHFMA, President and CEO, Healthcare Financial Management Association said, "Healthcare reform makes it imperative that hospitals, physicians and other providers work together to improve quality and lower costs. Healthcare delivery systems that provide an integrated framework to help align incentives and achieve clinical transformation can help providers respond to the many challenges that the industry faces. But our experience with integration in the 1990's has shown us that creating highly effective integrated systems is not easy. We hope that our work in this area can help systems move toward integrated structures and leadership that support higher quality and lower cost healthcare."

There is an art to achieving integration, collaboration, and engagement between hospitals and physicians. Developing key physician leaders who have a high level of credibility with all provider stakeholders is one of the identified competencies critical to producing desired changes. Dr. Lee B. Sacks, Chief Executive Officer of Advocate Physician Partners, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Advocate Health Care said, "Physician leaders are critical to the success of integrated health systems across the country. These leaders will be instrumental in optimizing clinical outcomes, improving patient safety, enhancing the patient experience, and creating a culture of committed physicians so essential in enhancing the value of the care delivered to our patients."

Integration in a Reform Environment: Strategies for Success identifies the following competencies, based on interviews with leading provider organizations, for promoting integration between hospitals and physicians:

* Market awareness

* Goal setting

* Structure

* Physician leaders/champions

* Technology/data sharing

* Compensation/incentives

* Engagement/cultural blending