Is a High Performing Network within your healthcare organization’s reach? Wellcentive’s Paul Taylor explains what it takes to execute improvement excellence in this last edition on network maturity.
Imagine an orchestra preparing to play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Each musician has his/her sheet music and knows what part to play. The conductor steadies his hands and commences to direct the confluence of sounds now emanating from the ensemble. As the players find their rhythm, each sound comes together to create a greater harmony. What you hear may be a masterpiece—but what you see is a metaphor for network maturity playing right before your eyes, according to Wellcentive’s Paul Taylor.
Dr. Paul D. Taylor, MD
“An orchestra is an epitome of operational excellence,” said Taylor, MD, CMIO and cofounder of the population health management (PHM) solutions company in Atlanta, GA. “The music is the final product, but what is achieved as a whole is really made possible by the individual efforts of the players and the sections of which they are a part. That’s exactly how a High Performing Network functions. As you grow your network, you begin to assemble all of the technology, processes, individuals, and teams that will work together to improve financial and clinical outcomes. As you evolve into a High Performing Network, there will be a synergy and flow between those components to drive your PHM programs with purpose and precision. Each individual and team effort is tied to a greater organizational goal.”
Those words may sound like music to your ears, but it can be a little harder for your mind to grasp, especially if you’re just starting to invest in HIT solutions and change management. Still, Taylor says it’s important to think long term about how your upfront investments will serve your network later on. In that sense, preparing for such an endeavor is not unlike mastering Beethoven. Fine tuning your network takes time, patience, teamwork, and a well-executed strategic plan.
The Path to High Performance
So, how does an organization mature from the early stages of EHR/EMR implementation to an enviable status of operational excellence driven by responsible PHM? If you’re not sure, don’t fret. Taylor and his colleagues have mapped out the process for you in Wellcentive’s Network Maturity model, which breaks down the maturity process into four strategic stages: Affiliated, Engaged, Coordinated and High Performing.
Taylor, who introduced the model in his three-blog series on the topic, has explained the maturity process at length with us at HIT Consultant, detailing the mission-critical pieces and components necessary to grow from an Affiliated to Coordinated network.
As a result, we have learned a great deal from Taylor, including the necessity of network maturity when it comes to not only the success, but the survival of health organizations in today’s ever-changing climate of U.S. healthcare. Simply put, network maturity matters— and for the future of the U.S healthcare system as a whole— it matters a great deal.
With the evolution of technology and the emergence of Big Data, U.S. healthcare stands to gain a great deal of benefit from the abundance of data now at the medical community’s fingertips. But without an operable means of garnering, aggregating, and normalizing that data so that it’s actionable, consumable and multifunctional, most organizations won’t reap the benefit or much ROI, for that matter.
Taylor explained, however, that a gradual and strategic approach to embracing network maturity can yield multiple opportunities and put the possibility of becoming a High Performing Network within realistic reach. Still, how do you know when you’re ready for the last leg of this long journey?
“It comes down to how you are functioning as a Coordinated Network. Have you identified your care gaps? Are you enacting successful clinical interventions to fill those gaps? Do you trust your data? Do your physicians trust it? Are they engaged in your organizational objectives via performance and benchmarking initiatives? Are your objectives tied closely to your reimbursement models? If you can answer yes to all those questions, then you may be ready to move forward,” said Taylor.
