Frontiers of Health Services Management - Summer 2013 - (Page 2)

ble of providing the type of integrated and coordinated care across a continuum that drives incremental value for patients and healthcare organizations.” in the second feature article, William B. leaver, facHe, speaks to this in the context of managing chronic disease, a major driver of healthcare costs. He points out that “our silos of care—from physician to hospital to home care or long-term care, all with different payment models and incentives—were preventing appropriate coordination of chronic disease.” However, as Molden and her colleagues observe, “to truly transform the US healthcare system, greater alignment must occur between hospitals and physicians through clinical integration.” leaver is in full agreement. He emphasizes that the key to coordinating care “is to begin with the patient and the physician.” the patient expects to know that his doctor has a voice in the health system at which he is being treated, that the physician is poised to be the patient’s advocate in the huge enterprise that is the local health system. the patient also expects that he, as a patient and consumer, will be heard and will be viewed in the totality of his personhood, not as just a medical problem, when he presents for medical services. the relationship between the hospital and the physician is key in the transformational process, so the two parties must together design and build a relationship within an organizational structure in which physicians may influence the care environment’s transformation. each of the feature authors and the commentators are consistent in pointing out that the three key ingredients for a successful transformation of healthcare delivery are (1) delivering value for the patient through a patient-centered model of healthcare delivery, (2) placing priority on the hospital–physician relationship, and (3) transitioning from the fee-for-service payment system to one based on value, not volume. the silos may not come down easily, but they will eventually succumb to demands that we place on ourselves, and that our patients place on us, for better quality of service balanced with lower costs. the editor of Frontiers would like to hear from you! if you have comments or thoughts about this or any issue of Frontiers, please share them by e-mailing Margaret Schulte at mschulte@ache.org. 2 • 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