1. Opening lines of communication between the two entities. Communication between the two groups is very important to sustain a successful relationship. It can be difficult to make sure everyone is on the same page because of busy schedules on both sides. OrthoIndy and St. Vincent Health jointly employ a team member to report to the CEO of OrthoIndy’s Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital (IOH) and the Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Operating Officer at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital. “When this person goes in and says here are places we can improve, she talks to both hospitals and together we all determine what the plan of action is going to be to resolve an issue,” says Mr. Martin. “It has to be a collaborative approach. We spend a fair amount of time making sure everyone on both sides of the fence knows what our role is in the program. When you are first trying to get these types of partnerships achieved, that’s the hardest part. After you get a little traction and people understand how it works, issues resolve over time.”
2. Expanding reach into the community. OrthoIndy has been able to reach a large number of patients at its location in Indianapolis, and the partnership helped practice physicians reach further out into communities that were underserved in orthopedics. As part of the alignment, OrthoIndy physicians see patients at St. Vincent Health-affiliated hospitals, which have locations beyond the practice’s normal reach. “We now have a vehicle for treating people who have struggled in the past to find orthopedic treatment,” says Mr. Martin. “The real challenge in most markets is that the metropolitan area is saturated with orthopedic surgeons. Our partnership provides the opportunity for us to meet the orthopedic needs of underserved communities, outside of the metropolitan area.”
This aspect of the agreement was also attractive to St. Vincent Health because affiliated hospitals in rural areas could now provide patients with orthopedic care. “We try to keep healthcare local and the patient as close as possible,” says Mr. Speer. “We were very interested in a relationship where we could work very closely together and provide a high level of orthopedic care in rural areas.”
3. Service line management opportunities. In 2005, OrthoIndy opened its own hospital, IOH, which gave the physicians experience at managing orthopedics efficiently in hospitals. “We were able to prove over the past five to six years that we know how to run an efficient orthopedic program,” says Mr. Martin. The physicians created a management company so they were able to lead the orthopedic service line at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital. “We truly believe that the right physicians can manage a service line more efficiently, create higher quality of care and better patient experience than hospital administrators,” says Mr. Speer.
Orthopedic surgeons are often weary of hospital employment because they want to have a degree of control over the patient experience, says Mr. Martin, and an alignment agreement that includes service line management opportunities could remedy the situation. “If service line agreements are done properly, the physicians have a venue where their voices are heard,” he says. “The hospitals are able to improve the efficiency of the services line, and all of this is what we are after: high-quality outcomes, patient safety and overall patient satisfaction.”
4. Keeping the agreement open. Even though OrthoIndy physicians have partnered with St. Vincent, they can still see patients at other hospitals, which is important for maintaining positive relationships in the community. “The beauty of this partnership is that it allows us to grow in different markets,” says Mr. Martin. “It’s an arrangement that has continued to allow us to work with other facilities in relationships that we have valued over the years.”
5. Strategic positioning for the future. The alignment between OrthoIndy physicians and St. Vincent Health works well now and could be the basis of strategic partnerships in the future, especially as accountable care organizations come to fruition. “The entire spirit of the collaboration is to do something that is a mutually sustainable relationship and can grow from a strategic perspective,” says Mr. Speer. “As we see ACOs gaining traction to provide the continuum of care, having a relationship with a large orthopedic group will help us be more competitive and provide the type of patient experience we want to offer.”
Learn more about OrthoIndy.
Learn more about St. Vincent Health.
Related Articles on Hospital Partnership:
5 Benefits and Challenges of Co-Management Arrangements for Orthopedic Surgeons
6 Different Methods for Orthopedic Surgeon-Hospital Alignment
6 Steps for Orthopedic Surgeons to Maintain Positive Relationships With Hospitals
