The industry is navigating a period of sustained disruption.
How can health care leaders pave the way for lasting progress?
Workforce imbalances, operational inefficiencies, and the rapid evolution of digital tools have converged to create a strategic inflection point for health care leaders. A high-functioning health system relies on multiple interconnected components working seamlessly toward shared operational and mission-driven goals – even one point of misalignment can disrupt the entire model.
Rather than continually reacting to urgent problems with incremental fixes, leaders must address the root cause.
In a recent article for Forbes, SullivanCotter’s Chief Executive Officer, Ted Chien, explains how health systems today must restructure for greater alignment across three foundational pillars — people, processes, and technology.
While transformation doesn’t happen overnight, there is a clear and achievable way forward:
1. Clarify and Empower People
Many organizations lack clarity around decision ownership and authority, and how roles across the business interconnect. Avoid this by:
- Mapping decision rights and governance roles across the organization
- Taking inventory of compensation models, exceptions and local variations to document differences and similarities
- Defining leadership expectations across markets and departments
2. Standardize Processes
Health care organizations often treat processes as organic, evolving differently in each market, division or practice. Tackle operational variability that drives ineffeciency and excess spend by:
- Establishing uniform workflows for compensation changes, contracting and analytics
- Approving consistent plan templates by service line
- Setting SLAs and accountability mechanisms
Rethink How Technology Supports the Business Function
While technology drives transformation, it can also hold us back when applied ad hoc to burning issues. Ensure effective utilization by:
- Consolidating systemwide data sources and enforcing shared definitions
- Standardizing the use of compensation and workforce tools
- Piloting new tools and AI-enabled efficiencies only where processes are stable
Alignment is the end goal, but it isn’t a stopping point. Leaders will need to continually review, adjust, and optimize as needed – and organizations moving in a unified direction will make measurable progress!