Three top-performing health systems honored with national awards for improving care, lowering cost

The Advisory Board Company's Consulting and Management division announced on Tuesday that it has recognized three top-performing health systems with national awards for innovative initiatives that improved care quality and patient experience while lowering cost.

"As health care adopts elements of true consumerism-;with increasingly cost-sensitive patients making their own care decisions-;providers are finding that quality and consistency of care are significant competitive advantages," said John Deane, President, Advisory Board Consulting and Management. "These three health systems have shown national leadership in patient-centered initiatives that improve care efficiency and the health of their communities."

The awards honored the following providers:

UCLA Health System received a Transformation Award in Physician Practice Management for a comprehensive improvement program for more than 140 ambulatory practice sites that enhanced the patient experience, care consistency within and across facilities, and care access. The system created a Patient Experience Enhancement team, which collaborated with the Advisory Board to develop "The Golden 15," a complete roadmap for the patient experience that includes key areas such as scheduling, the check-in process, patient safety, training, overall practice appearance, and use of practice management metrics. The Golden 15 outlines 106 standards of excellence, including the standards set forth in UCLA Health System's pioneer inpatient experience program CICARE (Connect, Introduce, Communicate, Ask, Respond, and Exit). In the first 45 days of the Patient Experience Enhancement transformation, adherence to the standards of excellence improved by 38%.

Memorial Health System (MHS) received the Transformation Award in Hospital Performance Management. The two-hospital system in Marietta, Ohio, was facing declining reimbursements and other market factors that threatened its financial sustainability. In response, MHS undertook initiatives to improve efficiency in its staff, surgical, and patient care processes. As a result of the initiatives, MHS improved labor productivity for a savings of $1.3 million, increased surgical volume by 10% without capital investment, and reduced average length of stay for a decrease of more than 1,800 patient days per year. The health system was also able to recruit more physicians and surgeons and enhance market position. Collectively, the initiatives improved MHS's bottom line by more than $3 million, achieving financial sustainability for the health system under its current private model.

Sparrow Health System (SHS), a five-hospital system based in Lansing, Michigan, received a Transformation Award in Value Based Care. SHS sought to enhance its market position by becoming a leader in the transition to population health management. The shift required the system to align its physicians and integrate multiple entities: SHS employs 250 physicians and has 900 in its physician hospital organization. The system engaged 29 physician leaders to create a 500-physician clinically integrated network, the Sparrow Care Network (SCN), as part of its journey to become an Accountable Care Organization. Sparrow Care Network is expected to join the Medicare Shared Savings Program and has established more than 140 quality initiatives.

The three systems were selected by a judging panel as award winners from among more than 200 engagements completed by Advisory Board Consulting and Management. The Awards are being presented across the three days of the annual Consulting and Management Institute, a senior executive summit in Nashville, Tennessee.