“With diminishing reimbursements and an increasingly harsh financial healthcare landscape, we must carefully prioritize initiatives that deliver the greatest value while maintaining operational efficiency,” Dr. Vashist said.
This includes scaling systemwide improvements in a way that balances innovation with “the realities of limited resources and workforce strains.”
Here are some of the ways Ballad has succeeded in balancing innovation and outcomes in 2024 and how they intend to sustain improvement in 2025.
2024 successes
Last year, Ballad Health improved its clinical outcomes systemwide:
1. The system launched a virtual sepsis monitoring unit, which contributed to a 27% reduction in sepsis mortality and a 17% improvement in CMS sepsis bundle compliance.
2. Ballad reduced fall-related sentinel events by 35% through systemwide implementation of evidence-based prevention protocols.
3. The system also standardized diabetes care and integrated best practices across the system.
“By embarking on and embedding high-reliability organization principles into our culture, we have created a foundation that not only drives these improvements but also positions us to sustain and build upon our momentum,” Dr. Vashist said.
Moving into 2025
Ballad has two big goals to meet by June: train all 14,000 team members in high reliability and embed zero-harm principles across the system.
“Leveraging innovative technologies, including piloting salient generative AI tools especially in the diagnostics and therapeutics arena, we aim to reduce clinical variation, improve care consistency and foster a culture of continuous improvement,” Dr. Vashist said.
The system is also piloting technologies such as generative AI to help with payer pressures, cost management and improving outcomes with precision execution of value-based care.
“Continuing to deliver high-quality, accessible care will be critical to our success,” he said.
