Tom Robertson, Executive Director of the Vizient Research Institute, is joined by Rich Liekweg, President and Chief Executive Officer of BJC Healthcare in St. Louis. Rich describes the similarities and differences between three models of academic medical center health systems in which he has worked - Duke, UCSD, and BJC - they then turn their attention to some of the macroeconomic drivers affecting medical spending across the country. They discuss the role of the traditional payment system in creating economic pressure on providers to establish and maintain low-volume surgical programs and they share an aspiration for new approaches to tackle the medical manifestations of social determinants of health.

Guest speaker: Richard J. Liekweg, MHA, MBA President and CEO BJC HealthCare Moderator: Tom Robertson Executive Director Vizient Research Institute

Show Notes:

[00:55] Richard Liekweg discusses the similarities of the three hospitals he worked in during his career.

[04:11] Declaring a health organization a system is not enough to achieve the level of standardization and integration to bring real value to patients and healthcare.

[07:15] Sometimes variation of services is a function of innovation. Health organizations need to make sure it’s true innovation and not just preferences driving the variation.

[08:11] Recent cost pressures encourage health systems to move some inpatient care out of the larger hospitals to the smaller community hospitals.

[11:35] Healthcare’s current payment structure is problematic. It doesn’t align incentives across those who pay for care, those who provide care and those who are receiving care.

[14:55] Regional health systems have an opportunity to pursue true clinical integration by placing low-volume, high-risk surgical programs in one or two locations.

[20:36] It will take investing in social programs rather than looking to healthcare providers to fix social determinants of health.

Links | Resources:

Richard J. Liekweg's biographical information

Subscribe Today!

Apple Podcasts

Amazon Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Android

Spotify

Stitcher

RSS Feed

Tom Robertson, Executive Director of the Vizient Research Institute, is joined by Dr. Bryce Gartland, Hospital Group President and Co-Chief of Clinical Operations for Emory Healthcare. The conversation opens with an examination of the challenges health systems face when trying to standardize clinical practices across multiple institutions and cultures. Bryce and Tom then discuss the role of the traditional payment system in creating economic pressure on providers to establish and maintain low-volume surgical programs and share an aspiration for a new reimbursement system – a more sustainable model that would enable providers to be more innovative in attacking the medical manifestations of social determinants of health. They close with a shared view of the potential for healthy seniors to contribute to a new approach to elder care.

Guest speaker: Bryce Gartland, MD Hospital Group President and Co-Chief of Clinical Operations Emory Healthcare Moderator: Tom Robertson Executive Director Vizient Research Institute

Show Notes:

[00:34] How to standardize intra-system variation of resource consumption

[03:08] Workforce burden – how do we work smarter, not harder

[03:48] Mergers and acquisitions come with commitments to services and practices within the facility or community

[04:23] Emory’s successes in standardization for care

[07:59] Reimbursement payment systems for care and surgical procedures

[13:09] Price disparities and health disparities

[13:47] Covid pandemic was a great accelerator that exposed care vulnerabilities and reimbursement system flaws

[17:57] Social determinants of health

[20:25] ‘Elder Corps’ concept

Links | Resources:

Dr. Bryce Gartland's biographical information

Subscribe Today!

Apple Podcasts

Amazon Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Android

Spotify

Stitcher

RSS Feed

Tom Robertson, Executive Director of the Vizient Research Institute, is joined by Kathy Parrinello, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital. The conversation centers around what Kathy describes as a feeling of moral distress among health care professionals when systemic barriers prevent them from providing everything needed by their patients. Brought into clearer focus by the pandemic, but not caused by it, were health care disparities – both access and experiential – that have been building for decades. The discussion explores the role of the traditional financing system in fostering such disparities and closes with Kathy's thoughts related to the challenges posed by the labor shortage.

Guest speaker: Kathy Parrinello, RN, PhD, FACHE Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester Medical Center

Moderator: Tom Robertson Executive Director Vizient Research Institute

Show Notes:

[00:32] Clinician felt moral distress during the pandemic because of health disparities, community mistrust, staffing shortages, inadequate insurance coverage, etc.

[06:00] Healthcare has changed since COVID, but it isn’t all due to the disease but rather a factor of post-traumatic stress and supporting clinicians leaving healthcare

[09:27] Healthcare systems rely on surgeries for their financial health. The pandemic’s cancellation of “elective” surgeries exposed the vulnerabilities of that system, and a reevaluation of the term “elective” vs. “scheduled” surgeries.

[13:42] Experiential disparities

[18:40] Labor shortages

[22:42] Using community partners to help with patients with social determinants of health

Links | Resources:

Dr. Kathy Parrinello's biographical information

Subscribe Today!

Apple Podcasts

Amazon Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Android

Spotify

Stitcher

RSS Feed