For example, a health system might decide to perform all its knee replacement surgeries in one facility. Clinicians and staff then become such experts at those surgeries that they understand how to work efficiently and effectively. The health system not only reaps the benefits of activity-based costing but also enables highly specialized care teams.
We all know bright young people who don't command high salaries but are great learners and problem-solvers. Such talent can be incredible on a team of people who are dedicated to specific services. At a time when provider shortages are only expected to get worse, Centers of Excellence open opportunities to utilize less expensive but extensively trained staff.
Furthermore, the strategy works even for small, regional health systems. Any facility can generate a reputation for specialized care and slowly but surely attract more patients and become more dominant. After all, the size of a building says nothing about the quality of the care delivered inside it.
Challenge #3: Attract and retain providers and staff Few health systems believe the current struggle to attract and retain providers and staff will disappear in the coming year. On the contrary, engaging high-quality, productive providers promises to remain a long-term challenge—and one that attractive salaries alone will not solve. Providers increasingly value health systems that decrease administrative burdens and support work-life balance.
These things can be accomplished in a couple of different ways. First, health systems can lean into the Centers of Excellence concept to give their skilled providers more predictability in how they work, including more consistent adherence to standards of care. Moreover, providers are likely to find it faster and easier to accomplish their administrative and clinical tasks when surrounded by other specialists focused on the same clinical mission.
Another way to satisfy providers and staff is by ensuring predictable, equitable, and flexible schedules. Advanced scheduling should act like an air traffic control system that allows health systems to schedule entire care teams (physicians, nurses, perioperative staff, etc.) vertically per care setting and horizontally across facilities in real-time. It also should be flexible enough to balance the needs of the entire enterprise with the needs of the individual facility and individual provider.
