Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/692604
referrals provides strong incentive for other local health systems to partner with the ambulatory service owners. Second and more traditionally, investing through joint ventures can create stronger physician relationships as economic alignment increases. The new ambulatory enterprise roles, however, will not be successful unless the ambulatory development thrives. This requires reexamining the services upon which the ambulatory enterprise is focused. Rethinking Ambulatory Products The belief that the most valuable ambulatory services are those that generate the largest revenue needs to be rethought. In an environment where health systems connect patients to a system of care, and payments move towards rewarding longitudinal patient relationships, creating long-term patient relationships creates large lifetime value. The growing importance of lifetime value is making first healthcare touch points important to health systems' ambulatory plans. As a person becomes a patient, they are highly impressionable. Numerous studies have shown patients will follow their doctor's advice and referrals. As a result, whoever first touches the healthcare consumer has broad influence over how that person's care will proceed, which health system they will use and, in risk-based models, to which provider the patient will be attributed for payment. Historically, the first touch typically occurred with a primary care doctor, many of whom are now employed by health systems. Nowadays, healthcare consumers have an increasingly broad range of options meeting their unique timing, acuity and convenience needs. These options include urgent care centers, retail clinics, virtual care portals, hospital-based and free-standing emergency rooms, and the traditional scheduled primary care clinics. Where specialty services are a part of ambulatory care, health systems must also reevaluate how they are deployed. Multidisciplinary care is increasingly important for population health quality care. Efficient multidisciplinary care requires scale. As such, health systems must reassess developing small Health System Advisors Strategy Consulting Market Positioning Ambulatory Strategy Population Health Partnerships & Affiliations Physician Alignment Service Line Planning We are the nation's premier health system strategic thought leadership team, providing insight into future trends 3-5 years before they are adopted industry-wide. Our cohesive team structure and passion for strategy allows us to focus our energy on your challenges. We invest our resources in developing strategic analysis expertise and spend time shaping the most important underlying strategic trends facing hospitals today. 310 4th Ave S. #5010 Minneapolis, MN 55415 877-776-3639 w w w . H e a l t h S y s t e m A d v i s o r s . c o m Advising Leaders, Advancing Organizations, Transforming Healthcare