Over the next five years, Sharp will focus on leveraging these tools to drive growth in ambulatory care, expand hospital capacity and strengthen the Sharp Health Plan, he said.
A key part of Sharp’s strategy involves transitioning high-cost, hospital-based outpatient surgical services to lower-cost, freestanding surgery centers.
“The reason we’re doing that is because Sharp is a heavily capitated, population health-oriented system,” Mr. Howard said. “It behooves us to focus on reducing the cost of care since we are responsible for a significant portion of that cost. We also own and operate Sharp Health Plan, so as an insurer of care, we most certainly want to reduce the cost of care and ensure it is delivered in the best environment for those we serve.”
The approach differs from many systems operating in predominantly fee-for-service markets, where the goal is often to add hospital beds, perform more procedures and grow patient volumes, he said.
“At Sharp, it’s different,” Mr. Howard said. “We need to ensure that our hospitals are sized sufficiently to care for the patients we serve, and in Sharp’s case, that means expanding some of our hospital beds, because we are currently over 90% occupied in all of our Sharp hospitals on any given day. But we’ll also focus on moving care to more cost-effective settings and expanding primary and specialty care as needed to serve a growing San Diego population.”
In 2025, Sharp is also focused on identifying new revenue sources to offset rising costs, including California’s new $25-per-hour minimum wage and the state’s 2030 seismic compliance requirements for hospital facilities — the latter of which will require more than $1 billion in expenses, he said.
Beyond financial planning, Sharp is strengthening its recent technology investments, particularly around Epic EHR optimization. The system made more than 30,000 decisions during the EHR implementation process, and a new governance council is overseeing ongoing improvements.
“We’re working our way through all of those decisions not only to ensure proper governance but also effective decision-making for the adjustments we’re making with the original installation,” Mr. Howard said, “as well as some of the new advancements that Epic is offering, especially those that involve artificial intelligence.”
Despite industrywide hurdles, Mr. Howard is optimistic about healthcare’s future.
“Our nation’s healthcare industry most certainly has its challenges, both at the federal and state levels, but I feel we are on the cusp of major advancements in healthcare,” he said. “My belief is that as we move forward, we will move more deeply into value-based care and population health management, so that we as an industry can truly reduce the cost of care, better manage the health of those we serve, and improve the consumer experience while advancing provider and employee engagement.”
