Few of us from Spectrum Health will ever forget the first time we pulled together the results of our new direction in quality-of-care improvement: $15 million saved, $10 million in increased revenue, and an overall higher quality of care.
It was the fantasy that all healthcare organizations dream about: Increasing quality and saving money? Aren’t those mutually exclusive?
Achieving these results wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t a formidable task either. It required stepping back and taking a strategic look at our operations. It required asking some tough questions. And above all else, it required us to break down the barriers that plague our industry.
For too long, health care has been a siloed field. CFOs handle financial concerns. Physicians and nurses are strictly clinical. And operational staff are scattered across the spectrum, careful not to step on anyone’s toes.
We realized that in order to increase quality and save money, we needed to work together on a unified front. Leaders from all parts of the organization needed to collaborate toward one goal: offering profitable, top-quality care.
It is in the spirit of this collaboration that we’re excited to see the launch of Leadership, a new publication from the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).
Leadership offers analyses, case studies, and practical strategies that unite healthcare leaders. It shows leaders how organizations like ours took collaborative action to address the business and performance challenges facing our industry.
Leadership demonstrates why working across departments is key to building a successful healthcare organization.
Caring for a community’s health is as complex as it is crucial. Challenges from all sides face healthcare providers—inadequate and illogical payment, rising costs, labor shortages, regulatory burdens, and the need for improved quality. Overcoming these challenges involves everything from clinical information technology to talent management to strategic financial planning. No one discipline can solve any of health care’s challenges, much less confront the range of challenges that every organization faces. Achieving our patient care mission requires a culture of collaboration. We hope that the stories in this publication provide you with the inspiration and ideas to build that culture.
Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA
Vice President, Hospital Finance
Spectrum Health
2006-2007 Chairman, HFMA
John Byrnes, MD
Senior Vice President, System Quality
Spectrum Health