With financial pressures intensifying across healthcare, hospital and health system finance leaders are working closer with departmental and clinical leaders to help them understand the numbers behind care delivery.
“It’s not about dumping spreadsheets; it’s about building a shared understanding of what the numbers mean and how they connect to patient care,” Ian Macdonald, CFO of Terre Haute, Ind.-based Union Health, told Becker’s.
Union Health comprises Terre Haute-based Union Hospital, Union Hospital Clinton (Ind.) and Union Medical Group, a network of 130 providers practicing throughout western Indiana and eastern Illinois, according to its website.
Mr. Macdonald said the most difficult part in building this relationship can be the translation of financial language into something meaningful that hits home from a clinical perspective. However, once leaders build that trust, decisions can be made quicker and more clearly.
“The biggest wins come when clinical and financial leaders actually sit down and make sense of the data together,” he said. “Not just cost, but quality, outcomes and narratives too.”
At New Orleans-based Ochsner Health, executive vice president, CFO and treasurer Jim Molloy told Becker’s that to meet the system’s foundational promise of providing high-quality and cost-effective care, leaders have had to “think differently and fundamentally” to redesign operations — starting with education.
Ochsner Health comprises 47 hospitals, more than 370 health and urgent care centers, more than 40,000 employees, and 4,900 employed and affiliated providers, according to its website.
“We’ve developed required learning modules and programs about financial metrics and key statistics on utilization, quality and operational efficiency so our clinical and administrative leaders can understand the connection between the activities in their areas and our financial sustainability,” Mr. Molloy said. “Department and project-level training teaches our teams how to evaluate the financial impact of an acquisition, capital project or investment in technology and ties core financial operating levers to our ability to reach organizational goals.”
Ochsner Health has also developed systemwide performance metrics and dashboards to strengthen accountability, speed up decision-making and promote alignment between its finance team and clinical and operational leaders.
Through laying the groundwork and working together thoughtfully, Ochsner has better positioned itself to enter payer negotiations proactively and ensure it is paid appropriately for the care it provides.
“By helping everyone understand the financial basics of how our healthcare business works, we’ll be far more able to advance our performance goals and find creative solutions to financial challenges while remaining consistent with our mission and values,” Mr. Molloy said.
