PHYSICIAN ALIGNMENT
SSB has extensive experience working with physicians and hospitals on physician alignment projects. Each project requires its own unique approach, but there are certain common elements to the services SSB can provide in the area of physician alignment, including:
- Interviewing physicians, listening to their issues, concerns and perspectives
- Analyzing the situation and developing an understanding of the broader context, including the market dynamics and other factors influencing the situation
- Zeroing in on the most critical issues that need to be addressed
- Identifying potential solutions for strengthening alignment
- Working with leadership on both sides to determine the most promising solutions to pursue, and an appropriate course of action
- Designing a process for obtaining consensus and buy-in from all key constituencies, including physicians
- Implementing selected solutions
Identifying solutions and obtaining buy-in to a new direction is only half the battle. In this critical arena, ongoing, sustained execution of the strategy is what really makes the difference. SSB is prepared to work with the client in a variety of ways to ensure that the full potential for improvement is not lost due to ineffective execution.
SERVICE LINE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION
SSB helps providers shape and grow their portfolio of clinical service offerings so that the organization is positioned to achieve its strategic, operational, and financial objectives. Our core areas of clinical expertise encompass cardiovascular services, orthopedics, neurology and women’s health.
Projects typically begin with a thorough analysis of the economics of each clinical service line, in terms of direct and indirect contribution, revenue sources and uses, and cost structure analysis. It also includes an assessment of the mission of the sponsor organization, the demands of the local market, the interests and capabilities of the medical staff and projected trends in reimbursement. Our services in this area include the following:
- Service line market and competitive analysis
- Service-specific business plans
- Service line investment strategy
- Referral management and other volume building strategies
- Physician recruitment strategies
- Competitive differentiation strategies
OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
SSB believes the ultimate achievement of a strategic vision requires not just a sound strategic framework for growth, but also a strong ability to achieve operational performance that supports growth while achieving financial targets. Superior operational performance cannot be achieved by hospitals alone, but rather must integrate and align physicians and their practice patterns. Accordingly, SSB consulting services in the area of operational improvement focus not just on specific aspects of operational performance, including benchmarks, but also on development of strategies and tactics that create and sustain physician support for change.
To support our clients' needs, SSB-both the core team and our extensive network of operational performance consulting partners-has developed an extensive array of operational improvement consulting services including:
- Quality monitoring and benchmarking
- Operational performance metrics
- Functional and operational analysis
- Process analysis and redesign
- Technology planning and alignment with operational processes and performance metrics
ENTERPRISE/ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING
SSB believes that effective strategic planning must begin with a thorough understanding of each provider’s underlying economics and market position. We have found this to be essential to effectively making critical decisions regarding strategic direction, competitive positioning, financial planning, service line and portfolio management, physician relations, managed care plans, and resource allocation among competing needs.
Our firm has worked extensively with hospitals, health systems and large physician organizations around the country to address near-term strategic priorities while managing toward longer-term goals. Our services in this area include expert analysis and facilitation of:
- Market-driven strategic planning;
- Network/system development strategies
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Development of managed care strategy
- Economic and capital planning
- Program and facility planning.
MANAGED CARE INITIATIVES
From the emergence of consumer-choice models to the implementation to the decline of capitated reimbursement, the rapidly changing managed care environment is imposing profound change on provider markets. These changes can undermine existing network relationships and disrupt payer alignments. They can also present unique opportunities to achieve meaningful market gain.
SSB employs a market-based approach to help providers embrace strategies that preserve or re-align existing relationships and leverage emerging market opportunities. Our services in this area include:
- Development and implementation of integrated network strategies
- Payer alignment and selective contracting strategy
- Structuring physician/hospital organizations (PHOs)
- Analysis and planning of physician/hospital joint ventures (e.g., managed services
organizations) driven by changes in the payer environment.
MERGERS AND PARTNERING
SSB provides a range of services to organizations seeking assistance with mergers and acquisitions. The scope of activities provided to clients ranges from comprehensive due diligence to facilitating negotiations to meticulous tactical and implementation planning.
Our work is grounded in developing a robust valuation of economic impact followed by rigorous planning to assess alignment of the various parties and the requirements for effective integration of operations. This is followed up by post-merger operational and strategic support to ensure the projected economic value is fully derived.
Key components of this work include:
- Feasibility assessments
- Identification, introductions and facilitation of discussions betwee potential partners
- Integration planning and implementation
- Integration and alignment of new leadership team
- Post-merger operational and strategic support
SSB has worked extensively with many different hospitals, medical groups, academic medical centers and health systems all across America. Our firm provides these organizations with a unique portfolio of services, all designed to capitalize on SSB's unique strengths--a broad perspective on all facets of healthcare; vision, creativity and imagination; bold leadership and project management skills; and exceptional rapport with physicians (as well as other key constituencies).
Hospitals and physicians turn to SSB when they need a resource that can deliver these capabilities. They turn to SSB when struggling with a particularly difficult problem, when facing significant competitive pressure, or when committed to taking key clinical programs to a new level of performance.
SSB is especially adept at getting to the root cause of a strategic problem or challenge, creating unexpected, "break-out" solutions, building consensus and buy-in from physicians and other key constituencies, and helping the client implement the solutions.
Hospitals and physicians use SSB to develop or strengthen physician alignment opportunities, build market share, develop and expand service-lines, formulate business strategy, develop and implement managed care initiatives, facilitate mergers and acquisitions, and improve operations.
