Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2013 - (Page 12)

mented, compliance and success will be gauged by specific quality and efficiency measures, customized to each pathway. after PHc finishes implementing a system-wide electronic health record, pathway compliance will be centrally monitored so that variations from established pathways can be real-time teaching opportunities. Piedmont Heart pathway development has been difficult and required significant resources. efforts to standardize care processes can meet major roadblocks if an organization has not achieved a high level of physician engageWe attribute Piedmont ment and collaboration, Heart’s pathway success which are hallmarks of an to the physician–hospital integrated culture capable of creating value. We atintegration model tribute Piedmont Heart’s combined with strong pathway success to the physician collaboration and physician–hospital integrathe management support tion model combined with strong physician collaborato execute initiatives. tion and the management support to execute initiatives. to sustain current accomplishments and allow for expansion, the Piedmont Heart pathway development team will soon add dedicated financial, case management, and information services resources. Pathway development is a noteworthy milestone in Piedmont Heart’s evolution because it underscores the commitment of the physicians who came from different legacy physician groups to work together toward agreement on the single best way to care for a patient. Piedmont Heart’s journey to create clinical pathways continues today. the level of detail each pathway requires and the multitude of possible branches connected to a trunk provide ongoing opportunity to add patient value. Most current pathways have been specifically developed for PaH, the largest and most complex of the hospitals within PHc. in the future, Piedmont Heart pathway champions will work with all PHc hospitals to review applicable pathways, adjust them if necessary to accommodate fundamental and acceptable process variations, and support their implementation and maintenance. Piedmont Heart’s work on cv pathways is now considered best practice within PHc, and other clinical service lines are actively considering how to develop similar programs. Putting Patients First Most cv physicians divide their time among making clinic visits, performing office- and hospital-based procedures, reviewing diagnostic study results, and rounding on inpatients. that fragmented approach preserves the individual physician’s “ownership” of the patient, but it often results in inefficient time usage and does not encourage physicians to “play to their strengths” and work as an integrated team. Piedmont Heart recognized that the quality of cv services at PaH, which made up at least 40 percent of hospital volume, could be improved, in part by minimizing the chances that physicians’ attention would be diluted by juggling multiple responsibilities. additional focus was needed to improve patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, physician extender and other cv clinical team satisfaction, and the management of care throughout an acute episode. toward this end, Piedmont Heart’s leaders sought to determine whether many physicians should continue doing many different activities, often during the same day, or if a few physicians should specialize in their area of greatest skill and focus their day on a single type of patient care activity. 12 • f ro ntier s o f h ea lth s e r vic e s ma na g e m e nt 29 :4

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2013

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2013
Contents
Editorial
At the Heart of Integration: Aligning Physicians and Administrators to Create New Value
Volume to Value
Physician-Led Models of Accountability and Value: Observations on Payment Policy and Culture
Collaboration Across Clinical Silos
Breaking Down Clinical Silos in Healthcare

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2013