Key thoughts:
• Health system expansion creates opportunities for growth, but it comes with reputational risks
• Brand dilution describes an inconsistent brand, which erodes public confidence
• Physician coordination in support of the core mission is critical to firming up the brand
Hospitals and health systems are currently undergoing an unprecedented period of consolidation, increasing from 66 partnership transactions in 2010, to 102 in 2016 1. As stronger health systems grow and push further into the community, obvious benefits include economies of scale, diversity of products (to include free standing ER’s, Skilled Nursing Facilities and rehabilitation units), a larger catchment area, and increased brand recognition.
But true health systems need to be more than just a series of hospitals or facilities stacked onto one spreadsheet. “Systemness” comes with a seamless integration of physician communication and patient flow. Executives can do their part to provide platforms for integration, such as a common EHR (electronic health record) and linked radiology imaging systems. However, the greatest danger to expansion is to not deliver consistent quality with the core mission of patient care.
Brand dilution describes how out-paced growth weakens a brand, and this can be applied to many industries. Higher performing medical institutions are particularly vulnerable to this as their reputations have often grown over generations and the physician culture has been continually enriched with highly vetted new talent. The biggest danger of brand dilution is loss of consumer confidence and trust, factors that are core to the physician-patient relationship.
While tertiary care patient referrals may or may not come with health system expansion, physician leaders are critical to success. Some ways to build a healthy extended brand are 1) engaging physicians across the system within each discipline, 2) measuring performance with the same metrics but scaled to the local population, 3) enhancing connectivity of people through group conferences such as grand rounds and quality assurance/improvement committees, 4) building inter-professional programs such as cancer tumor boards, and 5) setting clear expectations of each physician and aligning incentives. Bridging nursing cultures throughout the system is another important element. Investing in these ways to fortify health systems is more likely to build brand unification, a term that has yet to be popularized.
1 Kaufman, Hall & Associates, LLC, Skokie, IL
This column is part of a series devoted to clarifying and enhancing the physician-health system relationship. Dr. Ken Altman is Chief of Otolaryngology at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, TX.
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